Amid a backdrop of a recent string of disasters and food scandals, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday marked its 28th anniversary with nationwide picnics instead of its usual large-scale celebrations, in a move meant to symbolize that the party is on the side of the general public, not the privileged few.
In light of July’s plane crash in Penghu, which killed 48 people, a series gas pipeline blasts in Greater Kaohsiung that killed 30, a tainted oil scare and other events, the DPP decided that it would celebrate its 28th birthday by staging picnic events around the country.
“The picnics symbolize that the DPP is not a party for the privileged, rather, it will always stand with the general populace,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at a picnic in Greater Taichung, where she was campaigning for the party’s mayoral candidate, Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). “All of our candidates [in the year-end nine-in-one elections] share the same idea: to enable people to live happily.”
She said that what the public wants may be ordinary, but it takes extraordinary government leadership to fulfil those needs, such as safe food, security and a good transportation network. Tsai added that she is confident the DPP nominees will be extraordinary leaders.
Tsai also took part in a picnic in Changhua County’s Lukang Township (鹿港), after campaigning for the party’s candidate for Changhua County commissioner, Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷).
Prior to the its anniversary celebrations yesterday, the party decided to expel several of its members for insisting on running in the Nov. 29 elections despite not receiving party nominations.
Those expelled were Hsinchu mayoral candidate James Tsai (蔡仁堅), Hualien County commissioner hopeful Chu Kuo-hua (朱國華), Greater Taoyuan mayoral candidate Hsu Jui-chih (許睿智) and 18 local councilor hopefuls, including New Taipei City Councilor Lee Wan-yu (李婉鈺) and Taoyuan County Councilor Lo Wen-chin (羅文欽).
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
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
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
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