A campaign to unseat New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) because of his vocal support for marriage equality has collected enough signatures to submit a recall petition, while the New Taipei City legislator reaffirmed his stance on gay marriage.
An alliance founded by New Taipei City residents opposed to gay marriage organized a signature drive in Sijhih (汐止) on Saturday and announced that it collected 3,124 valid signatures, exceeding the amount required to file a petition for a recall vote.
At least 2,511 signatures are needed to submit a recall petition and 25,119 signatures to launch a recall vote in Huang’s constituency, New Taipei City’s 12th electoral district covering Jinshan (金山), Wanli (萬里), Sijhih and other districts.
Photo: CNA
Alliance director Sun Chi-cheng (孫繼正) said they would submit the recall petition and signatures on Feb. 1 — the anniversary of Huang’s inauguration — to the Central Election Commission to proceed to the next step of the recall procedure.
Sun criticized Huang for “cheating the voters by campaigning for gay marriage without trying to honor his election promises.”
“Sexual education materials are rampant on campuses, so is sexuality,” Sun said.
Sun said Huang snubbed the opponents of proposed same-sex marriage legislation who petitioned Huang’s office against it last month, while Huang exposed the personal information of petitioners, causing them to become the target of Internet harassment.
Supporters of the campaign also cited Huang’s “substandard” performance in terms of local services, saying that he was hardly seen organizing any local events.
It was the first attempt to recall an elected official following an amendment to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), which was approved on Nov. 29 and lowered the threshold for submitting a recall petition from collecting the signatures of 2 percent of all registered voters of a constituency to 1 percent, while reducing the required number of signatures supporting a recall petition from 13 percent to 10 percent of voters in a constituency.
“I support the public’s right to practice democracy, but the recall campaign will not change my stance on marriage equality,” Huang said yesterday.
He said he should be judged in terms of his legislative performance, adding that all his work is open to public inspection.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
RSS