DPP Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Frank Hsieh (
At a rally for TSU city council candidates last night in Kaohsiung, former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee said that construction projects have sprouted in the city since Hsieh took over as mayor.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"The city now competes with Taipei because Hsieh's leadership has resulted in the launch of a rapid transit system, the cleanup of Love River and an improvement in the quality of tap water," Lee said, implying that former mayor Wu Den-yi (
At the rally, national policy adviser Alice King (
Earlier at the rally, Hsieh expressed his gratitude for the help TSU supporters have given him.
At another rally yesterday, held for Hsieh and DPP city councilor candidates carrying the theme "Kaohsiung people, stand up," first lady Wu Shu-chen (
"Things like this have almost made the election meaningless," Wu said.
Hsieh said at the rally that his trip to Taipei yesterday afternoon had clarified controversial issues relating to the check.
But the check remained a hot issue in Kaohsiung. When asked whether Huang would also take time out of his campaign to respond to allegations, Huang's spokesman Lin Yi-shih (
"It's Hsieh's own business to prove his innocence. How could he request others to give up the election campaign?" Lin said.
Huang was supported yesterday by the pan-blue camp, which carried out a march downtown to promote his campaign.
Huang, who was dressed in military garb to show his combat effectiveness, admitted that Hsieh would benefit by receiving support from President Chen Shui-bian (
"However, this is a mayoral election rather than a warm-up exercise for the 2004 presidential election," Huang said, "What I have is my resolution to serve residents," he said.
Both Huang and Hsieh yesterday did their best to win support from labor and public servants.
Huang held a rally to appeal to labor groups, saying that he knew their hardship because he is the son of a blacksmith.
Meanwhile, former National Police Administration director-general Yao Kao-chiao (
"Hsieh's consideration for both police and firemen demonstrates his vision to improve public security," Yao said.
Yao said he did not fear possible punishment from the KMT for his support of Hsieh.
Yao said he met with Hsieh more than 10 times recently to discuss strategies to improve public security in Kaohsiung.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese