The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday released its preliminary list of legislator-at-large nominees for the Jan. 11 legislative elections.
The list includes NPP Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), former party chairman Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) and Claire Wang (王婉諭), mother of the girl known as “Little Light Bulb” (小燈泡) who was murdered in Taipei in 2016.
At the top of the list is environmentalist Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華), followed by Chiu, Wang, Huang and Taipei City Government policy adviser Ben Jai (翟本喬).
They are followed by veterinarian Kuan Hsin-ling (關心羚), former SinoPac Securities chief financial officer Melody Wang (王幗英), Taiwan People News founder Chen Yung-hsing (陳永興), NPP Secretary-General Wu Pei-yun (吳佩芸), Taiwan Institute of Economic Research associate research fellow Bai Ching-feng (白卿芬), award-winning coffee cupper Chao Yun-ching (趙芸菁) and neurologist Chan Chin-chun (詹智鈞).
The order was determined by the party’s decisionmaking committee in a meeting yesterday based on candidates proposed by a nomination panel, NPP spokesman Chen Chih-ming (陳志明) said.
The candidates were selected based on their knowledge and experience in variety of policy areas and how they can help push political reforms, he said, adding that gender balance was also taken into consideration.
Chen Jiau-hua was placed at the top of the list because she was recommended by multiple party members, including NPP Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), Chen Chih-ming said.
“She is someone most eco-conscious people would be familiar with,” Chen Chih-ming said. “We hope to show members of the public that we care about these [environmental] issues.”
Wang — who became a judicial reform advocate after her four-year-old daughter’s murder — could help raise awareness on issues related to the judicial system, education and safety, he said.
The candidates would be formally nominated if the majority of party members vote to second the list in an online vote, Chen Chih-ming said.
Voting is to begin at noon today and last for three days, he said.
Hsu expects the party to win at least four legislator-at-large seats, he said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on