The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) today said it would not appoint an interim chairperson, after it extended Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) leave for another three months as he remains under investigation for alleged corruption.
Ko on Aug. 29 announced he was going to take a three-month leave of absence from his role as party chairman, with the period set to expire on Nov. 29.
He has been in detention since Sept. 5 as prosecutors investigate a case involving alleged preferential treatment given to Core Pacific Group in a redevelopment project while Ko served as Taipei mayor.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
On Nov. 1, the Taipei District Court approved a request to extend Ko’s detention for another two months until Jan. 5.
Prosecutors can apply to hold suspects incommunicado for up to two months at a time — for a maximum of four months — as an investigation is conducted.
The TPP today held a central committee meeting to discuss extending Ko’s leave of absence.
Party spokeswoman Celina Wu (吳怡萱) told reporters after the meeting that all 14 committee members agreed to extend his leave until Feb. 28.
In the meantime, party affairs would continue to be run by an emergency response team comprised of three party members, she added.
The party charter states that the committee shall work together to lead the party in the event of the chairperson’s absence.
If the current chairperson still has more than a year left in their term, the charter says the party should hold an election within six months of their absence for someone to take their place for the remainder of their term.
Asked whether this means there is a six-month limit to a leave of absence, committee member Lee Wei-hwa (李偉華) said the charter does not specify any time limit.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
IN FULL SWING: Recall drives against lawmakers in Hualien, Taoyuan and Hsinchu have reached the second-stage threshold, the campaigners said Campaigners in a recall petition against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) in Taichung yesterday said their signature target is within sight, and that they need a big push to collect about 500 more signatures from locals to reach the second-stage threshold. Recall campaigns against KMT lawmakers Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) are also close to the 10 percent threshold, and campaigners are mounting a final push this week. They need about 800 signatures against Chiang and about 2,000 against Yang. Campaigners seeking to recall Lo said they had reached the threshold figure over the
RSS