One day after a furious exchange in the city council chamber, Kaohsiung's mayor and council speaker shook hands yesterday to signal a truce in their dispute over who is paid the most.
Both, however, insisted that they had done nothing to provoke the other's wrath.
"We should have calmed down after tempers began to flare and lob no more accusations," Mayor Frank Hsieh (
"But, for all the respect I have for the speaker, who represents the council, he used inappropriate words [against me]," he said.
Showing no sign of giving in, the council's speaker, Huang Chi-chuan (
"I've only asked him to leave for a while, but he was like an old grandpa who couldn't be moved, and even challenged me by threatening to call the police," Huang said.
"Despite his understanding of the law, Hsieh openly challenged [my] authority to maintain order."
Following mediation by city councilors not involved in the dispute, Hsieh and Huang shook hands during a break in yesterday's session, only to quickly turn away from each other.
However, Huang later muttered to reporters that Hsieh should be disciplined by the Cabinet and the Control Yuan for his act of disrespect in leading a walk-out from Thursday's council meeting.
Earlier yesterday morning, DPP supporters, organized by one of the party's Kaohsiung legislative candidates, Lin Chin-hsin (
The group shouted at police dispatched to disperse their unauthorized gathering.
Yesterday's council session proceeded without incident. The dispute over who -- the mayor or city councilors -- is paid more wasn't raised during the session.
On Thursday, Hsieh argued that city councilors were paid more than the mayor in his response to questions on the matter by Councilors Chu Wen-ching (
Instead of attempting to settle the dispute or placate the combatants, Huang ordered Hsieh to leave the session, saying that the latter had shown "no sincerity" in answering the councilors' question.
Hsieh then walked out of the council chamber and asked other high-ranking officials to follow, saying that they should not answer the counsel's questions without him being present. The resulting walkout caused the council session to be cancelled.
RACE FOR CHIPS: The Dresden site would help Europe reduce its reliance on Asia for semiconductors, while Germany aims to produce one-fifth of the world’s chips by 2030 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday broke ground in Dresden, Germany, on its first European plant as the continent seeks to safeguard its chip supplies amid growing US-China tensions. TSMC chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) attended the event, together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the heads of Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and Robert Bosch GmbH, which each hold a 10 percent stake in the venture. TSMC owns a 70 percent stake in the plant. “Together with our partners, Bosch, Infineon and NXP, we are building our Dresden facility to meet the
‘CLOSE TIES’: Former Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda also attended the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security and spoke of Taiwan’s importance globally China’s authoritarian expansionism would not stop with Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, calling for solidarity among the world’s democracies to check Beijing’s territorial ambitions. Taiwan is determined to become a decisive force for democracy, peace and prosperity, standing side-by-side with its democratic partners to confront authoritarian expansionism and protect shared values, he told the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security in Taipei. Authoritarianism is now a global challenge, Lai said, using as examples Chinese military expansionism, economic coercion and the use of hybrid warfare tactics such as cyberattacks and cognitive warfare. “We are all fully aware that China’s growing authoritarianism will
WORK TOGETHER: The US cannot assume it does not need friends, Haley said, calling isolationism unhealthy and echoing Pence’s calls to stand with Taiwan Taiwan and the US should jointly call on the UN to hold a hearing on UN Resolution 2758 and curbing China’s aggression, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said yesterday in Taipei. The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 on Oct. 25, 1971, which states that the People’s Republic of China is the legitimate government of China, which led to it replacing the Republic of China in the UN. However, the resolution “never mentioned ‘Taiwan,’” and the UN should not “allow the Chinese Communist Party to hijack a resolution and claim it’s about Taiwan,” Haley told a news conference. Taiwan should
RECOVERY: Overall, average income across all age groups increased, climbing to a record NT$709,000 last year, on the back of an improved economy, the DGBAS said Taiwanese workers under the age of 30 last year, on average, earned an annual income of NT$545,931 (US$17,044), a new high, as the economy continued to improve, data released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. That equated to monthly earnings of NT$45,494 per person, and marked an increase from NT$535,667 in 2022, the data showed. In addition to an improved economy, average incomes rose as the unemployment rate declined and the minimum wage rose, the statistics agency said. Overall, average income in Taiwan also hit a new record of NT$709,000 last year, up from NT$704,000 in 2022, the data