An anonymous person has launched a campaign on the Threads social media platform to recall Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安).
Calling on people to take part in the first stage of the recall, which involves collecting signatures, the campaign initiator says Hsu is unfit for the post, listing issues such as an apartment complex fire in the city on May 26, and allegations that she allowed her boyfriend to exert undue influence in city affairs.
Kao has been charged with corruption, with a ruling expected on July 24.
Photo: CNA
Kao ranked second to last among 13 mayors in a policy satisfaction survey conducted by Global Views Monthly this year. The survey excluded mayors from the six special municipalities.
Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) ranked last, and civic groups have launched a recall campaign against him.
The Hsinchu City Government yesterday said that it respects the netizen’s political remarks and each citizen’s free will to express their personal opinion.
A recent media poll found that 60 percent of Hsinchu residents are in favor of Kao’s administration, although that indicates that more effort is needed from Kao’s team to win over the remaining 40 percent, the city government said.
It added that it would pursue tangible policies to improve Hsinchu residents’ welfare.
The Hsinchu Election Commission said it has not yet received a recall proposal from the petitioner.
In the first stage of a recall campaign, a proposal requires signatures from at least 1 percent of the constituency to be approved, while the second stage requires signatures from at least 10 percent of the constituency, the commission said.
The constituency votes in the third stage, and a recall is only passed if the number of valid “yes” ballots outnumbers the number of “no” ballots and makes up more one-fourth of all eligible voters in the electoral district, it said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS