The New Taipei City Election Commission yesterday held a televised debate between New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Sun Chi-cheng (孫繼正), chairman of the Greater Taipei Stability Power Alliance, a group opposed to gay marriage, over the second round of voting for the legislator’s recall scheduled for Dec. 16.
Sun criticized Huang for supporting amending of the Civil Code to legalize gay marriage and said it would destroy values that are intrinsic to families, adding that this was his primary reason for launching the recall effort against Huang.
More than half of New Taipei City residents are opposed to the proposed amendments, as well as 60 percent of all Taiwanese, Sun said.
Photo: Chiu Shu-yu, Taipei Times
There is neither legal nor public consensus on the issue, but Huang insists on “pushing it through,” Sun said, adding that such actions go against Huang’s touted belief that “people should determine public policies.”
Huang’s actions have gone against his campaign promise to make “the next generation happier,” Sun said.
Using his daughter’s school textbook, Sun said that its contents, such as sections on masturbation, fellatio and anal sex, are not only inappropriate, but absurd.
Photo: Chiu Shu-yu, Taipei Times
Such material drives students toward sexual liberalism, making them susceptible to orgies, sadism and masochism, threesomes and more, Sun said, adding that it was inappropriate handling of the subject of sexual education.
Sun called on constituents in the city’s Sijhih (汐止), Jinshan (金山), Wanli (萬里), Juifang (瑞芳), Pingsi (平溪) and Gongliao (貢寮) districts to vote and witness how their votes would become a milestone in Taiwan’s governance.
Huang said he respects that people oppose same-sex marriage out of religious beliefs, adding that he had not verbally abused Christians and called on everyone to respect different opinions.
Citing the Council of Grand Justices’ Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 in May, Huang said that same-sex marriage has been declared a basic human right and by law, the Legislative Yuan has to conclude the amendments within a two-year period.
Public issues must be based on facts and common sense, and should be in line with the law, Huang said, adding that those who spread hateful commentaries are themselves the source of social instability.
Huang thanked the public for its support and said that he has not disappointed his supporters since his election, adding that the televised debate was due to the amendments to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公務人員選舉罷免法).
His attendance at legislative affairs, including inquiries and budget reviews, was in accordance with his campaign promises, Huang said.
Rejecting Sun’s claim that he has not tended to the needs of his constituents, Huang said he has asked the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) to ameliorate and improve the crowded conditions on Siko TRA Station platforms near the Sijhih Science Park.
Huang also said he was involved in the environmental assessment of a planned extension of the Taipei MRT System into New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止), adding that all of his actions are recorded on the publicly viewable platforms associated with the Legislative Yuan.
The debate is positive for the deepening of democracy in Taiwan, Huang said.
According to the recall act, the recall vote — the last of three phases — needs the approval of at least 25 percent of the total eligible voters in an electoral district to be considered successful.
Huang’s constituency, the 12th electoral district of New Taipei City, has 251,191 eligible voters, requiring 62,798 “yes” votes to remove the NPP lawmaker from his post.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he
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