Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung’s (陳時中) campaign office yesterday launched its political donations account and introduced his dog as a campaign “spokesperson.”
At a news conference in Taipei, the office showed off a gray crossbody tote bag featuring Chen’s campaign design theme and colored masks.
Chen has more than 50,000 “Taipei team members” on his campaign Line account and more than 1,000 volunteers, who are to use the tote bags while handing out flyers, said DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤), who is Chen’s campaign director.
Photo: Ho Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Members of the former minister of health’s campaign support teams and campaign officials are to wear green face masks, while a set of gray, pink and beige masks would be given to donors as gifts, she said.
Donations can be made through a Chunghwa Post giro transfer using account No. 50460041, the campaign office said.
Yenpa (沿八), a dog Chen and his family adopted, is “the most popular spokesperson on the campaign team,” Wu said, adding that it would be featured in campaign literature.
Photo: Screenshot from Huang’s Facebook account
Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), who is also expected to run for Taipei mayor, yesterday said she would not use her Pomeranian Hsiaohsia (小俠) as a campaign tool because “Hsiaohsia is a family member.”
She is expected to announce her resignation as deputy mayor on Sunday to prepare for the mayoral election in November.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) on Saturday wrote on Facebook that building a pet-friendly city would be part of his political platform.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
He proposed a health insurance plan to ease pet owners’ medical expense burdens, and said there should be designated areas for dogs in public parks, adding that an education campaign could encourage more people to adopt pets.
He also said that the MRT metropolitan railway system should have designated areas for pets to travel without being in a carrier.
Additional reporting by Cheng Ming-hsiang
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear