The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday elected human rights lawyer Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) as its new chairman, with Chiu reaffirming the party’s emphases on promoting national sovereignty, labor rights and same-sex marriage.
Former NPP executive chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), who held the post from 2015, late last month surprised supporters by announcing that he would not run for re-election as chairman.
“As the party has developed a steady foundation, this is an appropriate time for me to cast aside my party duties and shift my focus to promoting reforms important to Taiwan’s future,” Huang said at the time.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Chiu, formerly director of the NPP’s Hsinchu chapter, was elected during a meeting of the party’s decisionmaking committee.
Defending Taiwan’s sovereignty, labor rights and marriage equality are the NPP’s most important missions, Chiu told a news conference after the meeting.
When asked by reporters if he would seek support from Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in next year’s legislative elections, Chiu said that if a political party wants to grow up, it must first win supporters’ trust, rather than asking “big names” to back its candidates.
While the party’s stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty is similar to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP), the NPP has different views about last year’s amendments the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) and same-sex marriage, he said.
The party would fight for the right of all couples to get married and receive all protections stipulated in the Civil Code, he said.
After formally taking up the post on March 1, Chiu said he would set up an election strategy committee to review legislative candidates for the nation’s 73 first-past-the-post constituencies, Chiu said.
Huang would continue to play an essential role in the party’s fundraising events and has promised to help scout legislative candidates, Chiu said.
The biggest problem Chiu faces is a lack of funds, he said, adding that he still works as a pro bono lawyer.
He said he hopes that party members could work together at a fundraising event on March 9.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS