Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he does not know who China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) founder Chang An-le (張安樂) referred to when Chang said the party held an illegal rally in Taipei to celebrate the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) national day on Oct. 1 after negotiating with the city’s police department.
Chang, a former Bamboo Union leader, aslo known by his triad nickname of “White Wolf,” in a live broadcast on Facebook last week said that “the police department negotiated with us, allowing it [the rally] to be like previous ones — lasting for two hours, and we dismissed after they held a sign up three times.”
A temporary stage decorated with the PRC flag and a banner that read “celebrating the PRC’s 70th anniversary” was set up on the plaza outside Taipei Main Station about noon.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
About 500 members of the party gathered at about 2pm, sang March of the Volunteers, China’s national anthem, waved the PRC flag, and chanted “one country, two systems” and “unify China.”
Hundreds of police officers surrounded the rally.
Chang took the stage at 3:28pm to give a speech, when police held up a warning sign instructing participants to end the illegal rally.
The rally ended at about 3:50pm after the sign was held up four times and police began dispersing the crowd.
Several Taipei City councilors at a council meeting asked why police were apparently slow to act, allowing the event to be concluded before the participants were dispersed.
They also asked why the party was only fined NT$2,400 by the Taipei Public Works Department’s Parks and Street Lights Office for setting up a stage without approval.
An approved event held at the same location would need to pay a rent of NT$10,000 for four hours with an additional NT$30,000 security deposit.
Ko said he had no idea who in the police department Chang negotiated with, but he has always told the department that it should “carry out its duties according to the law.”
He said he can understand the difficulty the police department might have faced, because although he tells it to follow the regulations, “oftentimes, the National Police Agency would give it instructions, so it has to think about it and negotiate.”
Ko was also questioned about issues related to next year’s presidential and legislative elections, including a remark he made during an interview on Tuesday that the Taiwan People’s Party, of which he is the chairman, would nominate seven female and seven male candidates for legislator-at-large seats.
He said the party would also hold an open audition to find more legislator-at-large nominees, adding that if suitable people are found in the audition, they can be moved to a top position on the list.
He confirmed during the interview that his aide and Taipei City Government adviser Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如) is on the list, because he hopes to see Tsai, who is a “blabbermouth,” tell the public about what Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) has said during closed-door caucus negotiations.
Ko said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) would also suggest some candidates for legislative-at-large seats, but his and Gou’s teams are still in an “adjustment period” and there is still time for negotiations.
He said in the interview that even after he has decided not to run for president, he expects the DPP to still view him as an enemy, as he believes the DPP “suffers from paranoia.”
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number
RSS