The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday vowed to garner five to seven seats in next year’s legislative elections, while accusing the People First Party (PFP) of being an “accomplice” of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), saying that it should not be counted as one of Taiwan’s “third force” political parties.
“The objective of the NPP is to play a key role in reforming the Legislative Yuan and we are willing to work with the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP], which might become the largest party in the legislature, and to assist DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) reform proposals,” NPP party-building taskforce captain and Academia Sinica research fellow Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said at a fundraising luncheon for the party. “As for the legislative election, we’re looking to take five to seven seats.”
However, when commenting on the DPP’s willingness to work with the PFP for seats in Taipei’s Neihu (內湖) and Nangang (南港) districts, as well as the PFP’s ambition to benefit from the rise of the alternative political force, Huang said that the PFP should not be considered as a third force political party.
PHOTO: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
“PFP and KMT lawmakers often share their support or opposition to the same bills. The PFP is an accomplice of President Ma Ying-jeou’s [馬英九] administration, and should not be considered an alternative political party,” Huang said.
Asked if he would run in the legislative election, Huang said that he “has not ruled out any possibility at this time,” but added that his main objective now was to help the NPP win as many votes as possible, and to garner more than 10 percent of legislator-at-large ballots.
“It’s not that important whether I get elected to a legislative seat,” Huang said.
In other constituencies, the NPP’s nominee for New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) Neil Peng (馮光遠) said that he is willing to negotiate with DPP candidate Lu Sun-ling (呂孫綾) over the seat, however, he said the final candidate should be decided by opinion poll.
The NPP candidate for Hsinchu City, Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智), on the other hand, said he would not yield if the DPP nominates its caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) for the constituency, as Ker has always been involved in murky politics.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS