Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Lien, the presidential candidate of the opposition "pan-blue alliance," said if he is elected, he will see to it that Kaohsiung residents cast their referendum votes for the opening of direct air and shipping links between Kaohsiung and China as part of the effort to rejuvenate the port city and help generate job opportunities.
Lien made the promise during a ceremony marking the establishment of a campaign support group of residents living in the Tsoying-Nantsu district.
He derided President Chen Shui-bian's (
In addition, Lien's party yesterday proposed a bill to cut legislative seats by about half -- part of a plan to revamp the political system and make it more efficient.
The KMT proposed that legislative seats be cut from the current 223 seats to 113 seats by 2007, with at least 35 seats being held by women.
KMT Legislator Lee Chia-chin (
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has also called for a smaller legislature. But the DPP wanted to make the change in a new constitution that would have been approved by a nationwide referendum.
But the DPP's referendum proposal was rejected by the opposition coalition, which includes the KMT and the People First Party (PFP).
Under a referendum law passed last week, a vote could only be called to endorse constitutional changes first approved by the legislature.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
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