Taiwan would likely need to adopt a coalition government model at the local and central levels within the next 10 years, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said yesterday.
The TPP held a news conference yesterday morning discussing the possibility of Taiwan adopting a coalition government model, like Japan did recently.
The conference focused on the coalition government formed between Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party, which helped LDP President Sanae Takaichi secure her spot as Japan’s prime minister, Huang said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The two parties signed a formal agreement specifying the bills and policies they intend to advance in parliament before Takaichi was elected, he said.
Japan’s example provides insights for Taiwan as it moves toward a coalition government, he added.
At least three forums on local coalition governments are to be held, and Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) and Deputy Mayor Chiu Pei-ling (邱佩玲) have confirmed they would attend, Huang said.
By holding forums in different regions, people would be able to share their experience and discuss the prospect of creating local coalition governments, he said, adding that it would give Taiwanese more chances to get involved.
Huang did not specify which cities and counties might favor a coalition government between the TPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), but said that it has broad applications at the local and central levels.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Justin Chuo (卓冠廷) yesterday said that the TPP is using the term “coalition government” to shift concepts and gain political advantages, adding that the central and local governments in Taiwan lack the necessary conditions to implement a coalition government.
A coalition government can only exist in a parliamentary system, in which parties work together to form a majority in the legislature so they can run a stable Cabinet, which naturally leads to alliances between parties, he said.
As Taiwan’s central government operates under a semi-presidential system and local governments run under a mayoral system, coalition governments are inapplicable, Chuo said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS