Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Keelung Council Speaker Huang Ching-tai (黃景泰), whose nomination as the party’s Keelung mayoral candidate was recalled by the party last week, said yesterday he has more than 70,000 signatures from locals who support his running in the race.
Holding a press conference outside Chingan Temple (慶安宮), where he had protested against the KMT’s withdrawal of his nomination last week, Huang yesterday said that — as he said he would — he has collected more than 50,000 signatures from voters in support of his campaign.
Huang was kicked off the KMT ticket on Wednesday last week, the party said, in light of the allegations linking him to influence peddling and corruption in a number of construction projects in Keelung.
He was released on NT$2 million (US$66,800) bail last month.
As he retains his KMT membership, Huang said he would not take legal action against the party and its resolution, despite having accused the KMT of failing to distinguish right from wrong and of violating procedural justice on Friday last week.
Huang said he hopes to be vindicated “after being prosecuted,” echoing a view he shared earlier in the day in a radio interview, saying that he was certain that he — “while completely innocent” — would “definitely” be prosecuted by prosecutors who had tried to detain him three times, but failed.
During another radio interview on Thursday, Huang said that he would not give up on running for office unless he was “thwarted by a bullet.”
At yesterday’s press conference, he repeated statements about a possible threat to his personal safety.
“I’ve told my wife and my daughter that in the next four months [until the elections in November], I would be facing attacks or other unpredictable scenarios that might impact my personal safety, but I am not deterred,” he said.
Huang thanked village wardens — numbering more than 60, he said — and the more than 100 community “director-generals” who he said helped him collect the signatures, lauding what he described as their “bravery.”
“They are not afraid of the oppression coming from the [KMT’s] city party office and the intimidation exhibited by those police officers who made calls to the chiefs to ask whether they would show up for the press conference [yesterday],” Huang said.
With the help of the local officials, Huang as of yesterday had 76,938 signatures from local voters affirming their support, the dismissed candidate said.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
BACK TO WINTER: A strong continental cold air mass would move south on Tuesday next week, bringing colder temperatures to northern and central Taiwan A tropical depression east of the Philippines could soon be upgraded to be the first tropical storm of this year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the next cold air mass is forecast to arrive on Monday next week. CWA forecaster Cheng Jie-ren (鄭傑仁) said the first tropical depression of this year is over waters east of the Philippines, about 1,867km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), and could strengthen into Tropical Storm Nokaen by early today. The system is moving slowly from northwest to north, and is expected to remain east of the Philippines with little chance of affecting Taiwan,
RSS