New Power Party (NPP) Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) yesterday said that caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) could be drafted as its presidential candidate if the party decides to join next year’s presidential race.
“If the party decides to nominate its own presidential candidate, drafting Huang would be a key option,” Hsu told a news conference at the caucus office in Taipei.
It is just an idea from the party headquarters and not yet a formal proposal, he said, adding that Huang has been consulted.
A proposal for the party to nominate its own candidate is still being discussed internally, he added.
If NPP members decide that Huang should be drafted, they would need to persuade him into accepting the arrangement before confirming the nomination at the party’s national convention, he said.
Asked about the headquarters’ plan to draft him, Huang said that he remains focused on his job as a legislator and promoting reforms.
The party also announced a list of 20 bills it plans to promote in the new legislative session, which starts on Tuesday next week.
The bill of the highest priority would be one requiring elected government officials to step down if they run for other positions, Hsu said.
If passed by mid-November, the bill would require Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, to relinquish his position starting the day he registers to run for president.
Such a law would not restrict people’s right to stand in election, but would require government officials to be more responsible, Huang said, adding that Hawaii, Texas and Florida have similar laws.
Other bills the NPP is to promote during the session include an anti-infiltration bill and a minimum wage bill, as well as amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例), the Mining Act (礦業法), the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) and the Prison Camp Act (外役監條例), the party said.
Separately, National Taiwan University professor of economics Cheng Hsiu-ling (鄭秀玲) was sworn in as the NPP’s legislator-at-large, replacing former legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, whose NPP membership was revoked earlier this month for tarnishing the party’s image.
Green Party Taiwan in July found that two non-governmental organizations run by a former assistant of Kawlo had received NT$4 million (US$128,123 at the current exchange rate) in subsidies from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which she was supervising.
While she would only be a legislator for four months, Cheng said that she hopes to collaborate with civil groups and would focus on promoting policies on politics, education, technology and the economy.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to