The Central Election Commission (CEC) has warned voters against wearing masks bearing campaign messages while heading to the polls in Saturday’s local elections, saying that those who do so could be fined at least NT$500,000 (US$16,041).
Wearing such masks would be considered a contravention of the rules banning all kinds of campaign activities and electioneering on election day, commission Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said in response to media queries last week.
A commission official later said that any suspected contravention of the rules would be referred to the CEC for investigation and those found guilty could face a fine of NT$500,000 to NT$5 million.
Photo: CNA
Voters are to choose 11,000 local officials and councilors at all levels of local government, and cast their ballots for a referendum on lowering the legal voting age and the minimum age of candidacy to 18.
In related news, the commission on Friday said that a legislative by-election would be held on Jan. 8 next year to fill the seat left vacant by Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), who resigned as legislator on Nov. 10 to focus on his Taipei mayoral election campaign.
The registration period for the by-election is to run from Monday next week to Dec. 2, the commission said.
Photo: CNA
Chiang of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) formerly represented the Zhongshan (中山)-Northern Songshan (北松山) electoral district in Taipei and is the KMT’s candidate for Taipei mayor.
According to Article 73-1 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), a legislative by-election must be held within three months of a legislator’s resignation unless there is less than a year remaining in their legislative term.
Chiang’s legislative term is to end on Jan. 31, 2024.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
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