Hualien independent legislative by-election candidate Shih Sheng-lang (施勝郎) yesterday filed a slander suit against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) over the latter’s remarks that he was a “hooligan.”
Accompanied by a horde of supporters at the Hualien District Court, Shih also accused King of obstructing the by-election.
On Tuesday when campaigning for KMT nominee Wang Ting-sheng (王廷升), King, aside from criticizing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Hualien legislative by-election candidate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), also attacked Shih, saying that the candidate supported by independent Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) “was a hooligan who did time on Green Island (綠島) for four years.”
“When something has to do with himself, King said ‘who doesn’t have past?’ But when it comes to something to do with others, he keeps on digging into past sore points,” Shih said. “So, tell me, who’s more of a hooligan?”
At a separate setting yesterday when asked for a response, King declined to comment, saying that the matter was now being handled by judiciary.
Meanwhile, the KMT yesterday continued its attack on Hsiao, accusing her of being a “tourist” to Hualien.
KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday visited Taoyuan County to campaign for KMT candidate Apollo Chen (陳學聖), and condemned the DPP for “wrongly accusing Chen of being a ‘parachute’ candidate” in Taoyuan and having few connections in the county.
“Chen is a native Taoyuan citizen. The beautiful tourist [Hsiao], on the other hand, was portrayed as a native from Hualien County,” he said.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) last night canvassed the streets in Chaiyi County with KMT candidate Lin De-rui (林德瑞). He is expected to spend much of today — the eve of the by-election — in Taoyuan County. He is also to visit Hsinchu County today to campaign for KMT candidate Cheng Yung-tang (鄭永堂).
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,