Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once.
Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘).
A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said.
Photo: Huang Tzu-yang, Taipei Times
“Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach what we consider a safe margin and ensure winning the recall vote against Lin,” she said.
However, the petition against KMT Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) from the county’s first district was still facing difficulty, Hsieh said.
There are only a few days left before the deadline, but they were at about 18,000 signatures, a few thousand short of the 21,567 threshold, so volunteer teams must double their efforts, she said.
Meanwhile, groups in Miaoli County organized pep rallies and activities at several places.
Former Hakka Affairs Council minister Yang Chang-chen (楊長鎮) called on residents to support the recall drive, despite numerous reports of violence and intimidation against recall volunteers.
Yang said they were short of about 4,000 signatures in the recalls against KMT Legislator Chiu Chen-chun (邱鎮軍) and independent Legislator Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) from Miaoli County’s two electoral districts.
Campaigners said that given updates yesterday, they expect recall drives in 30 out of 35 districts to reach the second-stage threshold, which would be a historic achievement, adding that recall voting would likely be held in late July and August.
Data showed that KMT Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) of New Taipei City got the highest number of recall signatures, at 54,888 as of yesterday, followed by Taichung’s KMT Legislator Huang Chien-hao (黃健豪) at 54,451.
Recall bids against Taipei KMT legislators Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) and Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) had the highest ratio of signatures past the threshold, at 175 percent and 171 percent respectively. They were followed by Taichung KMT Legislator Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) at 169.3 percent and KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi of Hualien County at 169.1 percent.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
RSS