Independent Taipei Councilor Lee Ching-yuan (李慶元) yesterday officially announced his candidacy for the Legislative Yuan, complicating “third force” electoral efforts by turning Taipei’s eighth electoral district into a three-way race.
At a campaign launch surrounded by supporters, Lee promised to push for constitutional reform and to address growing income inequality if elected.
A member of the New Party before joining the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in 2010, Lee announced his withdrawal from the KMT last month before being officially expelled. He yesterday stated that he would not join any political party if elected, amid rumors that he was considering joining the People First Party.
Lee said he would welcome leaders from any political party to campaign on his behalf, displaying a congratulatory message reading: “The brave fear nothing” sent by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), also an independent.
Lee has represented Taipei’s Daan (大安) and Wenshan (文山) districts in the city council for 16 years.
He is to stand in Taipei’s eighth electoral district, which encompasses Wenshan as well as parts of Zhongzheng District (中正), facing off against KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate Miao Bo-ya (苗博雅).
The Democratic Progressive Party has not nominated a candidate for the district to allow space for “third force” electoral efforts.
Former Taipei city councilor Yang Shih-chiu (楊實秋), who was also expelled from the KMT last month, has said he also plans to run in next year’s legislative elections, competing for Taipei’s seventh electoral district, encompassing the Songshan (松山) and Xinyi (信義) districts. The SDP has nominated gay rights advocate Lu Hsin-chieh (呂欣潔) for the district, with no candidate nominated by the DPP.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
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