Former New Power Party (NPP) chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said that he would leave the NPP without hesitation if it turned into a “sidekick” to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Working for the DPP was “not what he wanted to do” in joining the NPP, he said during a livestream yesterday.
The two parties could cooperate if there was an inclusive and impartial platform for doing so, he said.
Screen grab from the Internet
Huang’s broadcast was seemed to respond to media reports that the NPP approached fitness celebrity Holger Chen (陳之漢), seeking to collaborate.
Chen in a live broadcast on Friday confirmed that Huang had approached him about being a legislator-at-large for the NPP, adding that he had declined the offer after giving it some deliberation.
Chen, who runs his own chain of fitness centers, said that he has a responsibility to his shareholders and employees, adding that he feels society “likes people who can lie, rather than those like me who get things done.”
Huang had since the legislative session’s adjournment spoken with a number of experienced people to learn from them and get their feedback, he said yesterday, adding that his three-hour conversation with Chen, in which he had brought up the possibility of a collaboration, had been part of that effort.
Huang said he hoped to gain a better understanding of the type of government needed and where he personally should apply more effort.
The past three years in the legislature has been tiring for him, due to the limited number of NPP seats, he added.
The DPP, with its majority, can approve or shoot down proposals at will, while the NPP can only strengthen its supervisory role, he said, adding that his efforts to keep the DPP in check in the Legislative Yuan have caused some pan-green camp supporters to brand him a “traitor.”
They have told him that he would not have been elected legislator of New Taipei City’s 12th constituency if the DPP had not yielded the position to him, but the DPP never won the city’s Sijhih District (汐止), he said.
Huang said he hoped that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would not win the presidency next year, and that neither the KMT nor the DPP would win a majority in the legislature, as that would leave the public disappointed again.
“If there is to be something to balance out the two major parties, then the third force [the NPP] needs to grow larger,” he said.
Huang said he would continue to consult with others, and would inform the public when his plans are solidified.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
MESSAGE: The ministry said China and the Philippines are escalating regional tensions, and Taiwan should be included in dialogue mechanisms on an equal footing Taiwan has rejected renewed sovereignty claims over the South China Sea by the Philippines and China by reaffirming its sovereignty and rights under international law over the disputed area. “The Republic of China [ROC] enjoys all rights to island groups and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea in accordance with international law and maritime laws,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement yesterday. Other countries’ attempts to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea do not change the fact that the ROC holds sovereignty over the region, the ministry said. The MOFA statement came after
RSS