Collectively initiated by various activists with the aim of pushing for political reform, the Taiwan Citizen Union (公民組合) has finally been approved by the Ministry of the Interior, following several rejections.
Posting a picture of the approval letter from the ministry on its Facebook page, the group announced that it has finally been approved by the ministry and that it would soon be holding a meeting to elect its president.
The new group was initiated by more than two dozen activists, including former Judicial Reform Foundation chief executive director Lin Feng-cheng (林峰正), Taiwan Rural Front president Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮), Taiwan Rural Front secretary-general Frida Tsai (蔡培慧), writer Michael Lin (林世煜) and Academia Sinica associate researcher Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌).
“[Former Democratic Progressive Party chairman] Lin I-hsiung [林義雄] was behind the founding of the group, but he will not be involved in the operations of the group,” co-founder Lin Feng-cheng said. “The group’s objectives are to create a better and fairer society through political participation and reform.”
As a social organization, it will not be able to nominate candidates in elections, but can recommend candidates to run as independents.
Previously, the group accused the ministry of trying to block the group’s founding by turning down their applications, saying that the words “Republic of China (ROC)” or “Taiwan” should be included in the group’s full name.
The ministry denied that accusation yesterday.
“We didn’t turn down the applications, we merely wanted to make the recommendation that the group include ‘ROC’ or ‘Taiwan’ in its full name, since that’s what most other groups do,” Department of Cooperative and Civil Associations Director Weng Wen-te (翁文德) said.
“It’s only a recommendation, there’s no law saying they must do so, it’s a fundamental right for people to decide the name of their organization,” Weng said.
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