Former New Power Party (NPP) chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said that he would leave the NPP without hesitation if it turned into a “sidekick” to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Working for the DPP was “not what he wanted to do” in joining the NPP, he said during a livestream yesterday.
The two parties could cooperate if there was an inclusive and impartial platform for doing so, he said.
Screen grab from the Internet
Huang’s broadcast was seemed to respond to media reports that the NPP approached fitness celebrity Holger Chen (陳之漢), seeking to collaborate.
Chen in a live broadcast on Friday confirmed that Huang had approached him about being a legislator-at-large for the NPP, adding that he had declined the offer after giving it some deliberation.
Chen, who runs his own chain of fitness centers, said that he has a responsibility to his shareholders and employees, adding that he feels society “likes people who can lie, rather than those like me who get things done.”
Huang had since the legislative session’s adjournment spoken with a number of experienced people to learn from them and get their feedback, he said yesterday, adding that his three-hour conversation with Chen, in which he had brought up the possibility of a collaboration, had been part of that effort.
Huang said he hoped to gain a better understanding of the type of government needed and where he personally should apply more effort.
The past three years in the legislature has been tiring for him, due to the limited number of NPP seats, he added.
The DPP, with its majority, can approve or shoot down proposals at will, while the NPP can only strengthen its supervisory role, he said, adding that his efforts to keep the DPP in check in the Legislative Yuan have caused some pan-green camp supporters to brand him a “traitor.”
They have told him that he would not have been elected legislator of New Taipei City’s 12th constituency if the DPP had not yielded the position to him, but the DPP never won the city’s Sijhih District (汐止), he said.
Huang said he hoped that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would not win the presidency next year, and that neither the KMT nor the DPP would win a majority in the legislature, as that would leave the public disappointed again.
“If there is to be something to balance out the two major parties, then the third force [the NPP] needs to grow larger,” he said.
Huang said he would continue to consult with others, and would inform the public when his plans are solidified.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
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