Taiwanese Internet celebrity Chung Wei-ting (仲惟鼎), also known as AmoGood (古阿莫), yesterday failed in his bid to become a member of the New Power Party’s (NPP) central decisionmaking committee.
The result has thwarted his plan to run for chairman of the party.
“It is a pity that I cannot contribute to the reform of the party. However, I am still an NPP member and there are still government and party jobs at the local level,” Chung said. “I will continue to oversee the government and work hard for Taiwan.”
Photo: Hu Shun-hsiang, Taipei Times
“I ran in the election for the NPP’s central decisionmaking committee because I want Taiwanese to see and understand the party,” Chung said in a statement, adding that he hopes newly elected committee members make great strides for the party.
Chung, who is known for his irreverent movie reviews, has more than 10 million subscribers on Sina Weibo and 2 million on Bilibili. The two Chinese social media sites have since Feb. 4 blocked him from accessing his accounts after he announced his bid to enter Taiwanese politics.
As being a committee member qualifies an NPP member to run for chairperson, Chung said previously he would run if the party was lacking good leaders.
Prior to the election, Chung said he entered politics because he wanted to make contributions to Taiwanese society, and he joined the NPP because it allows an ordinary party member like him to participate in the election for members of the central decisionmaking committee.
Chung was one of the 29 party members vying for 15 spots on the committee, the NPP said, adding that 827 members voted in the election, representing 75 percent of the membership.
NPP Chairwoman and Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華), former Miaoli commissioner candidate Sung Kuo-ting (宋國鼎), NPP Secretary-General Christy Pai (白卿芬), and legislators Claire Wang (王婉諭) and Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) were elected to the committee.
Sung garnered the highest votes among all 15 members, the NPP said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said