Four independence-leaning parties yesterday announced that they would join forces for next year’s local elections.
New Power Party (NPP) Chairwoman Claire Wang (王婉諭), Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairman Wang Sing-huan (王興煥), Taiwan Obasang Political Equality Party convener Lin Shih-han (林詩涵) and Green Party Taiwan coconvener Joyance Wang (王彥涵) signed a joint declaration at an event in Taipei outlining shared principles, including defending Taiwan against Chinese aggression, boosting national defense and coordinating nominations to maximize local council seats.
The four parties also pledged to narrow the wealth gap, protect the environment and accelerate the nation’s energy transition.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The Democratic Progressive Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have reduced every political issue to the independence-unification divide — mobilizing voters through antagonism while leaving real problems unsolved, they said.
Claire Wang said that the partnership was the first time in Taiwan’s political history that more than two parties had formed an alliance.
The parties have a firm stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty and a rejection of plutocracy, she said.
Taiwan’s democracy suffers from the absence of a strong opposition, which prompted the parties to join forces to stabilize the nation’s democracy and advance statebuilding, Wang Sing-huan said.
The alliance aims to challenge the “opportunistic” Taiwan People’s Party and the “disorderly” KMT, he said.
Lin described the collaboration as the product of a year of dialogue and relationship building, which was intended to open a new chapter in Taiwan’s politics and rebuild public trust in government.
Joyance Wang urged the public to help change the political culture from the bottom up by supporting the alliance.
Claire Wang told reporters that the four parties had agreed to prioritize the re-election of incumbents and coordinate fairly where multiple candidates are eligible in the same constituency.
They hope to field mayoral and commissioner candidates, if possible, to offer voters new choices and break Taiwan’s political deadlock, she added.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS