The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday established a Kaohsiung chapter, with a pledge to win at least three city councilor seats in elections next year.
TPP Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) doubles as the head of the chapter, which is headquartered on Sandao 2nd Road in Cianjhen District (前鎮).
It is also Jang’s service office.
Photo: Ko Yu-hao, Taipei Times
At a launch ceremony, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is also the TPP chairman, said that the party’s five legislators, including Jang, have been named “excellent lawmakers” in a Citizen Congress Watch report, showing that they have helped improve the performance of the Legislative Yuan.
However, in a country that claims to be under the rule of law, the government should take the lead in conforming to the law, Ko said, adding that state-owned enterprises should have started using funds from this year’s budget in January, but allocations have not been passed.
The confrontations over the decades between groups that support independence and those backing unification with China are meaningless, and the TPP takes the middle road, he said.
Asked about plans for next years’ local elections, Ko said that the TPP, which formed in 2019, is still a new political entity and has just established its Kaohsiung office, so it still needs time to convey its ideas to the people.
The Kaohsiung mayoral election is a single-seat, single-vote system, so it would be difficult for a small party to win, Jang said, adding that the office would focus on councilor seats next year.
The establishment of the office symbolizes the TPP taking root in Kaohsiung and forming a voter service system from the Legislative Yuan to city councils, he said, adding that the primary goal is to win at least three city councilor seats, allowing the formation of a party caucus.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
Actress Hu Ling (胡伶) on Saturday became the first Chinese movie star to walk the red carpet of the Golden Horse Awards since 2019, when China boycotted Taiwan’s biggest awards show over political tensions. Beijing banned its entertainers from joining the awards, dubbed the Chinese-language Oscars, after documentary director Fu Yu (傅榆) voiced support for Taiwan’s formal independence in an acceptance speech in 2018. There were no films from China in the 2019 nomination list and several Hong Kong movies dropped out that year, while several big commercial productions were conspicuously absent at both the 2020 and 2021 awards. However, Hu, nominated for