The Taipei High Administrative Court yesterday rejected an appeal by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to block a recall vote against him.
It was the third time Han challenged the Central Election Commission’s plan to hold the vote on June 6. Han can still appeal yesterday’s decision.
The commission on Jan. 20 announced that a petition had garnered enough signatures to launch the recall process.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
On April 8, Han’s lawyers filed a challenge with the court seeking to suspend the commission’s right to proceed with the vote. The court on April 17 ruled against Han.
Han’s lawyers then filed an appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court, which on May 7 also ruled against Han.
Han’s lawyers on Monday last week filed another challenge with the Taipei High Administrative Court seeking to prevent the commission from holding the vote, resulting in yesterday’s decision.
The court rejected Han’s argument that the recall vote would damage his reputation and infringe on his right as an elected official to conduct his duties, saying that such consequences would depend on the poll’s outcome.
The court also rejected Han’s argument that holding the vote would increase the burden on Kaohsiung City Government employees and delay the city government’s planned work programs, saying that neither is a provision under election law to suspend the poll.
Kaohsiung Information Bureau Director-General Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) said that Han and his team would consult with lawyers for legal advice.
Separately yesterday, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus held a news conference to accuse the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government of aiding efforts to recall Han.
The caucus cited Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp introducing discounted tickets for university students from Wednesday next week to June 9 and National Defense University announcing that it was delaying its entrance exam — originally scheduled for June 6 and 7 — due to the recall vote.
KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) accused the Ministry of National Defense of placing politics over the rights of students.
DPP spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) said it was regrettable that the KMT caucus held the news conference, as doing so was aimed at deterring Kaohsiung residents from exercising their rights.
In related news, Han has canceled a planned visit to Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島).
Han was invited by KMT Legislator Chen Yu-chen (陳玉珍) to join members of the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee for an “inspection tour” on Thursday next week.
Chen said that the visit was part of the committee’s mandate to oversee the operations of the Ocean Affairs Council and the Coast Guard Administration, and was unrelated to politics.
However, some lawmakers and pundits said that it was an effort to burnish Han’s image, as Chen and KMT officials want to boost his reputation as a patriot and defender of the nation’s territory in the South China Sea as the mayor fights for political survival.
Additional reporting by CNA
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS