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.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
The New Taipei City Social Welfare Department on Thursday celebrated Paralympic competitor Chen Tzu-wei (張孜維), who received last year’s national Golden Eagle award for exemplary achievement by Taiwanese with disabilities. Chen, who suffers from childhood-onset muscular dystrophy, did not attend the first award ceremony held by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in November due to illness. Chen was formally presented with the award at the department, where he gave thanks to government workers for supporting his education and livelihood, the department said in a statement. Chen was raised by the Ai-hsin Home for Persons with Disabilities in the city’s Bali District (八里)
RSS