The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday said it would next week discuss a proposal by NPP caucus whip Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) to nominate a presidential candidate.
The proposal states that the party should determine whether to nominate a candidate for the presidential election in January next year by debating it at a national convention.
Nominating a presidential candidate would help the party’s long-term development and better meet the expectations of its supporters, the proposal says.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“The NPP’s top priority is to ensure Taiwan’s sovereignty, democracy and freedom,” the party said in a statement.
The party is keeping “an open mind” regarding how that would be achieved and would discuss opinions on the matter, the party said.
Although the proposal was submitted to the NPP’s decisionmaking committee last week, Hsu originally brought up the idea as early as April, well before a protest on Sunday against China’s manipulation of Taiwanese media, the NPP said.
As no committee meetings have been scheduled for this week, the proposal would be discussed next week, it said.
The committee last week decided that the NPP should apply a consistent standard to all presidential candidates after each party completes its presidential nomination process, the party said.
“One thing is certain — the NPP will never support a candidate who does not identify with its core values, such as those taking a pro-China stance on the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty,” it said.
Meanwhile, NPP Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) reiterated that he would not run for president.
He had learned from his friends that rumors are circulating about what he would do next, the former NPP chairman said on Facebook.
“Please stop spreading rumors. I have no intention of joining the presidential race next year and will not do that,” he wrote.
As he is not a member of the committee and is no longer responsible for party affairs, he is not involved in the party’s planning for the election, Huang wrote.
He will respect the committee’s decisions and proposals from members, he added.
Regarding his plans, he said he is focused on the Legislative Yuan’s provisional session and would inform the public of his next step after consulting a number of people.
Sunday’s protest was an effort by people from across party lines and did not belong to any political party or individual, Huang added.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
RSS