The Green Party Taiwan and Social Democratic Party (SDP) yesterday said they would register a “Green-SDP Alliance” party with the Ministry of the Interior to field a joint slate of at-large candidates in January’s legislative elections.
Green Party conveners Lee Ken-cheng (李根政) and Chang Yu-ching (張育憬) shook hands with SDP convener Fan Yun (范雲) at a press conference in Taipei after signing a memorandum of understanding.
Legislative candidates from the two parties stood together promising to “fight together to win for the people.”
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
“Compatriots must stand together, because true strength is found in solidarity,” Lee and Fan Yun both said in their speeches at the event, quoting Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水).
“Taiwan needs a new political force aside from two main political parties, which are both biased towards corporations — a political force that would always stand up to defend land, the weak and human rights,” Lee said. “The Green-SDP Alliance will act as a watchdog and an opposition party.”
While negotiating cooperation had been “difficult,” requiring six months of talks, solidarity was important to both sides, he said.
Fan said the alliance would work to “eliminate” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) while “balancing” the Democratic Progressive Party by striving to become the “crucial minority” in the Legislative Yuan.
She urged other “progressive social forces” to stand with them in the legislative elections, saying the alliance’s current membership was “insufficient.”
The Green Party Taiwan was founded in 1996 and won two county and city councilor seats in last year’s local elections.
The Social Democratic Party was founded by members of the civic group Taiwan Citizen’s Union (TCU) in March, following disagreements with TCU members who had launched the New Power Party earlier in the year.
Efforts by the Green Party and New Power Party aimed at collaboration failed.
Lee said that while he remained open to “cooperation” with the New Power Party, registration deadlines would make it difficult to include that party in the alliance’s slate of at-large candidates after they officially register the ticket with the interior ministry.
Any cooperation would likely be limited to harmonizing candidates for legislative districts, he said.
“This is a temporary alliance created to participate in the elections,” said Ku Yu-ling (顧玉玲), a former secretary-general of the Taiwan International Workers’ Association, who was invited to witness the signing of the memorandum. “Exactly where they compromise and how they define the basis for their cooperation is very interesting and important.”
While the memorandum calls for joint campaigning and splitting any campaign contributions and subsidies, the two parties have not drafted a common platform or even drawn up a list of candidates.
Parties must attract 5 percent of the national vote to be eligible for an at-large legislative seat.
A report by the Chinese-language Storm Media on opinion polls released last week placed support for the New Power Party at 5.6 percent of respondents, the Green Party at 2.6 percent and the SDP at less than 1 percent.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS