Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
The DPP has asked its supporters to attend a campaign rally, dubbed "Million People High Five, Come-back Win" to wear their baseball caps backward, flash the thumbs-up sign and exchange high fives.
Participants will form a 1,000km line encircling much of Taiwan, and at 3:14 pm begin a 5km march in a counter-clockwise direction to symbolize "reversing the tide" against the KMT's dominance, which claimed 81 of the 113 legislative seats in the January elections.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The time -- 3:14pm -- was chosen to mark China's enactment of the "Anti-Secession" Law on March 14, 2005.
The KMT is holding simultaneous marches throughout the country, in which participants will wear their caps backward and exchange high fives at 3:14pm.
"It's OK for them to copy [our ideas] as long as it's good for Taiwan," Hsieh at a news conference to promote its campaign rally. "But what's the point of voting for the KMT if it can only follow in the footsteps of the DPP? Why vote for a follower and an imitator?"
Hsieh's running mate, Su Tseng-chang (
Su said KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
For example, after the DPP initiated a referendum to be held alongside the election on joining the UN under the name Taiwan, the KMT "jumped on the bandwagon" and proposed a referendum on regaining UN membership under the name the "Republic of China" or any other "pragmatic" name, Su said.
The KMT yesterday brushed off the DPP's criticism, saying that wearing a hat backward symbolizes an athlete's determination to win by giving his or her last best shot.
"It is a gesture well known to sports lovers. It was not invented by the DPP," KMT communication and cultural committee head Huang Yu-cheng (
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
RSS