The Golkar party founded by former dictator Suharto kept its lead yesterday in Indonesia's general election and its leader Akbar Tanjung won support in his bid for the presidency.
With 89 million votes counted after the April 5 poll, Golkar had 20.99 percent compared to 19.67 percent for President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Tanjung has already claimed victory, saying most of the votes still to be tallied will come from his party's powerbase in outlying regions.
Megawati will have to battle to keep her job in a presidential election on July 5 after PDI-P's poor showing compared to 1999, when it took 34 percent of the votes.
Her former security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose new Democrat party performed strongly in the election, is by far the presidential front-runner, according to opinion surveys.
Tanjung, one of Indonesia's most experienced politicians, will face five other Golkar candidates at a convention on Tuesday to pick the party's presidential candidate.
He was convicted of graft involving food aid for the poor but was cleared in February on appeal to the Supreme Court.
Opinion polls have shown him ranked only fourth or so among people's presidential preferences. But some analysts expect him to secure the nomination given that he has apparently delivered victory in the parliamentary poll.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
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