Former New Power Party (NPP) legislator Huang Kuo-chang’s (黃國昌) official endorsement of independent Taipei mayoral candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) could hurt the chances of NPP Taipei city councilor candidates in Saturday’s local elections, a political commentator said yesterday.
Huang Kuo-chang, a leader of the Sunflower Movement in 2014, attended Vivian Huang’s campaign rally in Taipei on Sunday night and announced that he has joined her campaign team.
“He [Huang Kuo-chang] said at the rally that a great citizen should not choose between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, but they should choose between moving forward and moving backward. However, he ended his address by saying: ‘Taipei needs Vivian Huang and her team,’” said Shen Jung-chin (沈榮欽), an associate professor at the School of Administrative Studies at York University, Canada.
Photo: Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times
“He did not make the speech only to campaign for Vivian Huang; it was a declaration of his wish to join her governing team should she get elected,” Shen said.
While Vivian Huang is running as an independent, she has the backing of Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
“Four years ago, Huang Kuo-chang said that he strongly opposed Ko’s statement,” said Cheng, referring to Ko’s remarks in 2018 that “the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one family.”
“But he stood on stage with Ko at Sunday night’s rally and campaigned for the candidate they both supported,” Cheng said, adding that the move would undoubtedly hurt NPP candidates running for Taipei city councilors.
“Huang Kuo-chang said last month at the campaign office of NPP Taipei city councilor candidate Chen Chih-ming (陳志明) that he supports Vivian Huang’s mayoral bid, which at the time elicited a rather weak response from NPP Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華). The party only has itself to blame for letting the endorsement hurt the chances of its own candidates,” Cheng said.
The NPP and Huang Kuo-chang yesterday did not comment on the endorsement.
“Our party has three new political goals: First, we aim to enhance the quality of Taiwan’s democratic system and ensure that the system functions normally. Second, we should ensure that social resources are distributed fairly and justly, and third, we should ensure that Taiwan will operate as a normal country and is separate from China,” Chen said.
“We have 59 candidates running in the nine-in-one elections in 16 cities and counties: three mayors and county commissioners, 46 city and county councilors, seven township representatives and three borough wardens,” NPP secretary-general Christy Pai (白卿芬) said. “They are professionals from various disciplines who have neither political connections nor criminal records.”
Huang Kuo-chang said in a video that he was mostly concerned about the referendum on lowering the voting age to 18 from 20.
“Any political party can lose in the nine-in-one elections, but we cannot let young people lose faith in Taiwan’s democratic system,” he said, adding that young people should be given the full rights of citizenship.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS