The campaign for the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections officially starts today and is to last 28 days until Jan. 12, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said yesterday.
The hours that candidates are allowed to hold their campaign activities are from 7am to 10pm, CEC Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) told a news conference.
The order in which candidates are to be listed on the presidential ballot was also officially announced by Lee at the event, after a lottery was conducted earlier this week.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and his running mate, Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈), secured the top position on the ballot, while Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, and former representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) drew the second position, and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, and his running mate, Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), placed third.
About 19.5 million eligible voters, including about 1.03 million first-time voters, will be able to cast ballots at 17,794 polling stations around the country that are to be open from 8am to 4pm, the commission said.
Taiwan does not allow absentee ballots or early voting.
The exact number of eligible voters is to be announced on Jan. 9, CEC Vice Chairman Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) said.
Lee urged the media to adhere to the principles of impartiality and fairness when reporting on election-related issues.
Regarding public opinion polls, Lee said such activities need to list key details, including the name of the organization conducting the survey, the time, method, numbers, margin of error and source of funding.
Starting from Jan. 3, citing, publishing, disseminating, reporting or commenting publicly on any opinion polls pertaining to the elections or the candidates would not be permitted, Lee said.
The prohibition applies to political parties, the news media, polling companies and individuals, the CEC said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai