DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday slammed the KMT for cutting NT$280 million from Hualien County's construction budget, as he stumped for party candidates in the eastern part of the county.
"The budget was allocated to improve Aboriginal people's living conditions, preschool education, Internet lessons for teenage students and the county's sewerage system and police and fire departments," Hsieh told crowds yesterday afternoon, as he urged residents to vote for the DPP's candidate for county commissioner, You Ying-lung (
Hsieh added that the KMT has also frozen a total of NT$580 million meant to fund 98 projects in the county, adding that only 42 of those projects have been started due to the lack of funds.
Hsieh also reiterated the party's plan to push through legislative reforms, including cutting the number of seats in the Legislative Yuan by half and implementing a single district/two votes system.
Also at You's campaign rally yesterday, a women's support group was founded to court female voters for You and two other DPP legislative candidates in the county ? Lu Bo-chi (盧博基) and Chen Yi-hsin (陳義信).
Two celebrities, the premier's second wife Chu A-ying (朱阿英) and TV personality Pai Ping-ping (白冰冰) -- who used to only stump for KMT candidates -- showed up at the rally.
You picked up a major endorsement from the government with Chu's appearance. Chu told reporters, on behalf of Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Chu has reportedly been actively campaigning for Chang and other DPP candidates, but out of the public limelight. She has been dodging the media and photographers after a controversy over the premier's two wives made headlines. Yesterday, however, Chu showed no hesitation in joining those on stage at the rally.
Pai made her appearance before Hsieh arrived so she would not be on stage with him. Pai has had a public feud with Hsieh, who she called "a bad guy" during the last Kaohsiung mayoral election, because the DPP chairman negotiated with and later served as defense attorney for Chen Chin-hsing (陳進興). Chen was executed in 1999 for the 1997 kidnapping and murder of Pai's daughter, Pai Hsiao-yen (白曉燕).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned incidents in which signage supporting Taiwan was snatched from spectators watching badminton at the Paris Olympics, saying it contravened the spirit of the Games and freedom of speech. The incident took place during the men’s doubles match on Friday, when Taiwan’s Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) advanced to the final after beating Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. A unidentified man in a pink shirt was seen seizing the sign from a female spectator — later identified as Yang Chih-yun (楊芷芸), a Taiwanese studying in France — before being removed from the
TALLY: Sharpshooter Lee Meng-yuan won Taiwan’s first medal in Paris, taking home a bronze, while boxer Chen Nien-chin has secured at least a bronze medal Taiwanese badminton duo Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) yesterday won the gold medal in the men's doubles final at the Paris Olympics, defeating China's Liang Weikeng (梁偉鏗) and Wang Chan (王昶). The victory made them the first Taiwanese shuttlers to win more than one Olympic medal with back-to-back gold. They were crowned champions in the event at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Earlier in the day, Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) secured her first Olympic medal in front of a crowd chanting her name, a day after fellow boxer Imane Khelif did the same, following days of online abuse
Taiwan is to secure at least one medal at the Paris Olympics following boxer Wu Shih-yi’s (吳詩儀) quarter-final victory in the women’s 60kg (lightweight) division, while the nation’s male badminton players topped their groups. Wu defeated Maria Jose Palacios of Ecuador, a Pan American Games bronze medalist last year, by majority decision, with four out of five judges scoring in her favor. The 26-year-old pugilist is guaranteed to win at least a bronze medal, as there is no bronze-medal match in boxing. The victory was significant for Taiwan. Wu’s success came after the elimination of three Taiwanese boxers, including Kan Chia-wei (甘佳葳) in the
WELCOME: The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China yesterday announced that Taiwan had officially become a member of the alliance at its annual summit in Taipei China has falsely linked UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 with its “one China principle” and used the resolution to legitimize its acts to limit Taiwan’s participation in world bodies and possibly invade Taiwan by force, President William Lai (賴清德) said at the annual meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) in Taipei yesterday. UN Resolution 2758 was passed by the UN General Assembly on Oct. 25, 1971, stating that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the legitimate government of China, which led to the PRC replacing the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan’s official name, in the UN. Beijing’s “one China