Former National Security Council deputy secretary-general Philip Yang (楊永明) yesterday expressed concern about the Keelung City Government’s plan to establish a red-light district in the city.
Yang, who is planning to run in the city’s mayoral election next year, yesterday said the city government had to give serious consideration to how such a district would affect Keelung residents.
“As far as I understand, the Keeling City Council has not approved the proposal and no polls have been conducted to gauge public opinion about the proposal. I think the city government needs to consider the development from the people’s perspective,” he said.
Yang made the comments after the city government sent its proposal to the Ministry of Interior for further review, but refrained from discussing his mayoral bid. The plan would turn a Keelung street into a red-light district.
Yang resigned from his council post earlier this month to focus on the election. He announced his intention to run at a meeting with Keelung City Council Speaker Huang Jin-tai (黃景泰) and said he would move to Keelung next month.
He will likely be running against Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), who is reportedly President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) preferred candidate to represent the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in the race.
Lo, a Keelung native, has recently been emphasizing his deep ties to the city.
Last week, he went from Taipei to Keelung by train to meet with locals and discuss the city’s development at a local coffee shop.
He has also talked about his ideas for Keelung’s development on his Facebook page, hinting at his interest in joining the race. However, he has remained evasive when asked to confirm his intention to run by media.
Keelung Mayor Chang Tong-rong’s (張通榮) poor approval ratings and performance review has made the mayoral election of key concern for the KMT, as it seeks to obtain victories in next year’s seven-in-one local elections.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a