Facing threats of a recall campaign that on Friday passed the second-phase threshold, New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said that he did not neglect his legislative duties and urged supporters of reform to vote for him again.
The campaign was initiated in May by the Greater Taipei Stability Power Alliance, a group that opposes same-sex marriage. The Central Election Commission approved the motion in June, after it confirmed the 2,637 signatures submitted by the group.
According to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), a recall campaign must obtain signatures from more than 10 percent of the eligible voter population in an official’s constituency to pass the second-phase threshold.
Photo: CNA
The New Taipei City Election Commission on Friday announced that it had received 26,745 signatures from voters in the city’s 12th electoral district, more than the required 25,119 signatures, although the validity of the signatures will need to be verified by the commission before the final result can be announced later this month.
Huang told a news conference at his office in the city’s Sijhih District (汐止) that since becoming a legislator last year, he and the NPP have gone all-out to defend the nation’s sovereignty, push marriage equality forward, carry out pension reform and investigate scandals involving abuses of privilege.
He said that he has always been conscientious about his duties and puts all his effort behind them, adding that he is confident that the voters in his constituency have seen his performance, and although some people might have been misguided by lies aimed at discrediting him, the truth does not fear contention.
His assessment as an “excellent lawmaker” several times by the legislative watchdog Citizen’s Congress Watch is recognition of his team’s hard work, Huang said, adding that he feels no guilt in saying that his performance can withstand the test.
“I really feel sorry for my family and thank them for their understanding and support,” Huang said.
“Through the process, I have profoundly felt that deep-rooted conservative power and influential officials are still everywhere in Taiwan, obstructing the nation from advancing,” he said.
“I deeply believe that reform will eventually win and sunrise will eventually dawn on the island,” Huang added, calling on his supporters to again join forces and vote in the upcoming recall election to support him and his belief in reform.
Asked whether he would consider running for New Taipei City mayor next year if he is recalled, Huang said: “As a legislator, my duty is to focus on preparing for questions at the Legislative Yuan.”
He said that he places strict demands on himself to be a responsible lawmaker, so he must personally research and draft every bill that he proposes.
A video allegedly featuring retired general Kao An-kuo (高安國) calling on Taiwanese military officers to surrender to China and overthrow the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has sparked outrage and calls for him to be charged with treason. The video, titled “A message to Taiwanese military officers,” allegedly shows Kao saying: “I call on commanding officers of our military troops to stand up for Chinese nationalism, to take up this duty under heaven’s mandate to save Taiwanese from oppression and terrible suffering.” Dressed in military fatigues and a beret, the lieutenant general called on officers to overthrow the “fraudulent DPP regime,”
HOUNDED ONLINE: Two Chinese firms said they would not extend their contracts with Little S, while another terminated its agreement following an Instagram post A high-profile Taiwanese TV host found herself the latest to draw fire from Chinese Internet users after referring to Taiwan’s Olympians as “national competitors.” Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) — better known as “Little S” — made the comment in an Instagram post on Sunday during the women’s singles badminton final between Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) of Taiwan and Chen Yufei (陳雨菲) of China. The post drew an angry reaction in China, where nationalist Internet users often police the comments of celebrities and companies for views that clash with the Chinese Communist Party’s official narrative that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part
HASTY REVIEW CLAIMS: Medigen’s vaccine, which is to start phase 3 clinical trials later this year, should not have received emergency use authorization, Hau said Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) is to appeal the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization of Medigen Vaccine Biologics’ COVID-19 vaccine, he said yesterday. The administration on July 19 granted Medigen emergency use authorization, even though the drugmaker had not yet completed phase 3 clinical trials. The government should not authorize the use of a vaccine that has not completed phase 3 trials, Hau said in Taipei on the sidelines of an event to distribute boxed meals with former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康). Hau said the government had politicized
NEW NUMBERS: No deaths were reported yesterday, but there were 12 local cases and two imported cases — people who had returned from Thailand and the US The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that COVID-19 restrictions are expected to remain in place after Monday next week, as it reported 12 local infections and two imported cases. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the 12 local cases are 10 men and two women aged 10 to 80 who began experiencing symptoms between Thursday and Saturday. Six tested positive during isolation or upon ending it, he said, adding that the sources of infection have been identified in nine cases, while three remain unclear and would be investigated. Taoyuan reported five cases, all family
RSS