Voters in Taichung’s second electoral district should face Saturday’s vote to recall Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) “with a mature attitude” and make their choice in a calm, thoughtful manner,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) meeting yesterday.
Meanwhile, DPP members of the Tainan City Council described the campaign to oust Chen as a battle between pro-Taiwan and pro-China forces.
“Taiwan needs sincere and hardworking public servants such as Chen, a pro-Taiwan force who is willing to stand up to defend the nation and safeguard its freedoms and democracy. We do not need politicians from pro-China parties who kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party,” DPP Tainan City Council caucus whip Lin Chih-chan (林志展) said.
Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
Tainan City Councilor Lu Wei-yin (呂維胤) echoed Lin, saying: “This is a battle of pro-Taiwan forces fighting against pro-China forces.”
Voters in the district who do not live in Taichung should return to the city to vote in favor of Chen, he said
“People have seen that the Chinese Nationalis Party [KMT] resorted to anti-democratic methods during the recall campaign. They gave distorted information and meaningless arguments as reasons to recall Chen,” Lu added.
“The KMT’s actions to promote the recall have corrupted our democratic system, which was won through the struggles and suffering of many Taiwanese democracy advocates,” Lu said.
Separately, political commentator Wen Lan-tung (溫朗東) condemned former KMT legislator Yen Kuan-heng’s (顏寬恒) role in the recall drive.
Yen, who is seeking to win back the seat he lost to Chen in last year’s legislative election, “could not provide information on accomplishments from his years as a legislator,” Wen said.
Yen vilified Chen, while he himself has been accused of having ties to organized crime, Wen said.
Yen represented the district from 2013 to last year, following his father, Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), who represented the district from 2002 to 2012.
The two Yens have not told voters what they had accomplished for the district, while accusing Chen of being an outsider to the district.
In contrast, Chen has so far initiated 19 bills or amendments, provided assistance to constituents in 3,011 cases, participated in 224 local public welfare events, attended 222 inspections or visits to local infrastructure projects, and obtained NT$162 million (US$5.8 million) for the development of irrigation networks, NT$53 million for road improvement projects and NT$100 million for building a public sports facility.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
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