The Taipei Police Department yesterday said it was on edge over two large rallies scheduled for tonight by the campaigns of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and that of his Democratic Progressive Party rival, Pasuya Yao (姚文智), which would be less than 400m apart.
Ko is to hold his campaign rally at the Four Four South Village in Xinyi District (信義), while Yao is to stage a rally at the Taipei City Hall Plaza on Shifu Road.
While concerned over the proximity of the two events and possible disorderly activity, police said they have made adequate preparations, including traffic control.
Photo: CNA
For Ko’s event, all lanes on Xinyi Road leading to the section between Zhuangjing Road and Songzhi Road are to be closed from 10pm today until 6am on Sunday, as well as all lanes east of Zhuangjing Road, police said.
No vehicles are to be allowed along Songqin Street or in the area between Songqin and Xinyi Road Sec 5, Lane 14 during the period, they said.
As for Yao’s event, all lanes on Shifu Road in the section between Songgao Road and Songshou Road would be closed for vehicles between midnight today and 5am tomorrow, as would be all lanes on Renai Road leading to the area, they said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Northbound or southbound motorists are advised to take Guangfu S Road, Keelung Road, Songzhi Road or Songren Road, while those heading east or west are advised to take Zhongxiao E Road, Songgao Road or Songshou Road, they said.
Extempore traffic control measures might be enforced depending on the length of the events and the turnout, they added.
The choice of Four Four South Village as the venue for the final campaign rally for Ko on election eve is symbolic of “four years of hard work” and “four more years,” Ko’s campaign team said, adding that a number of singers have been billed to perform at the event.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Yao’s campaign team said it has set a goal of gathering 100,000 supporters to send Yao into the mayor’s office.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) is to hold his final campaign rally — called “Vote to save Taiwan” — on Ketagalan Boulevard from 6:30pm today.
The event would take on a sentimental undertone as Ting calls on Taipei residents to vote for him, his campaign office said.
KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) are scheduled to make an appearance at the event to drum up support for Ting, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger today issued a public apology and said it has suspended an employee amid allegations that the staff member discriminated against a Vietnamese customer at its Taipei 101 store. Posting on the social media platform Threads yesterday, a user said that an employee at the store said that “those shoes are very expensive” when her friend, who is a migrant worker from Vietnam, asked for assistance. The employee then ignored her until she asked again, to which she replied: "We don't have a size 37." The post had amassed nearly 26,000 likes and 916 comments as of this
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
RSS