The future of pan-green integration in New Taipei City’s first electoral district yesterday appeared uncertain, with New Power Party (NPP) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative candidates making conflicting statements about whether an agreement had been reached.
Author and NPP candidate Neil Peng (馮光遠) said a consensus had been reached in cross-party talks, with an Internet debate and televised “forum” to be held prior to polling to “integrate” his campaign with that of DPP candidate Lu Sun-ling (呂孫綾).
Whichever candidate had a lower level of support level — based on the integration poll — would be expected to withdraw from the race and throw their support to the other in the race against the incumbent, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇).
A debate and forum were necessary to allow voters to make an informed choice ahead of the integration poll, Peng said.
“[Lu] has purchased a lot of outdoor, radio and television advertisements, but we do not have the money for that,” he said.
The agreement was a compromise relative to his initial demand for three full debates, adding that a meeting was scheduled for today to discuss details, Peng said.
Integration in the district has been a major issue of contention between the two parties, which have generally sought to avoid competition between their legislative candidates.
Lu was quoted on the Chinese-language Web media New Talk site as saying that no consensus over integration has been reached.
Any encounter with Peng “does not necessarily have to be televised,” but should be transparent and “friendly,” Lu said, adding there was no precedent for a debate between legislative candidates.
In related news, NPP Hsinchu City legislative candidate Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said there has been no progress on integration in his district, the only other area where the NPP and DPP are going head-to-head.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) had yet to respond to his demand for a debate to be held before any integration polling, Chiu said.
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
RSS