Wecare Kaohsiung founder Aaron Yin (尹立) yesterday accused Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of undermining people’s right to freedom of assembly after Han on Wednesday said that non-
Kaohsiung residents “are not allowed” to join the group’s march to recall him next week.
Speaking to reporters in Kaohsiung, Yin described Han’s “ban” as “ridiculous” and a demonstration of double standards.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
As mayor, Han’s warning about attending the recall rally while planning to hold his own on the same day is a challenge to people’s rights, Yin said.
Han, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, said that he is to hold a march in Kaohsiung to celebrate the anniversary of his swearing-in as mayor on Saturday next week — the same day Wecare Kaohsiung is to hold the recall march.
While the recall march is to set off at 1:30pm from Wufu Road (五福路) and head toward Gongyuan Road (公園路), Han’s march is to begin at 1:11pm at the Aozihdi Forest Park (凹仔底森林公園) and end at the Smile Park.
Han welcomed people from around the world to join his anniversary march, but warned non-residents against attending the recall parade.
“It is absolutely not allowed for non-Kaohsiung residents to attend the march. It would be illegal,” he said on Wednesday.
The recall march is held by people “whose minds have been eclipsed by darkness,” he added.
Yin said that civil groups applied to hold the march to recall Han as early as August.
“Based on what law of the Republic of China is Han banning non-Kaohsiung residents from attending the demonstration? Is he going to bring back martial law?” he asked.
By holding his own march on the same day, Han is spreading anxiety over potential conflict between participants from the two camps, Yin said, urging people to not be afraid and bravely join the march.
The two camps would be on different routes and there would be additional police officers to maintain order, he said.
Wecare Kaohsiung announced in June that it is preparing to launch a petition to recall Han, saying that the mayor appeared more interested in running for president than in running the city.
To recall the mayor, 25 percent of Kaohsiung’s electorate must vote in favor of recalling him, with the number of “yes” votes exceeding the “no” votes.
Considering that Han was elected mayor with nearly 890,000 votes, Wecare Kaohsiung estimated that at least 600,000 “yes” votes would be needed to recall him.
Additional reporting by CNA
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