The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) shortlisted 43 applicants from an open audition for its nominees for legislative-at-large seats, and they would be interviewed by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the party chairman and other top party members, starting on Sunday, the TPP said yesterday.
TPP Secretary-General Chang Jer-Yang (張哲揚), central committee members and central advisory committee members would join the interviews, and the final decision could be announced by the end of the month.
The audition was open to the public between Oct. 5 and Oct. 10, and the party received a total of 268 applicants, of which 86.1 percent were men, Chang said.
The majority age group of the applicants is between 36 and 40 years old, accounting for 21.03 percent, and most of the applicants hold a university degree.
Additionally, 22.4 percent have academic backgrounds eligible for being a member of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, 19 percent for the Economics Committee and 18.7 percent for the Education and Culture Committee.
The 43 finalists are between 26 and 50 years old, with 32.6 percent between the ages of 41 and 45, and 65.1 percent hold a master’s degree or higher. Ten people have educational backgrounds eligible for the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, nine people for the Economics Committee and seven people for the Education and Culture Committee.
Chang said some of the applicants have been elected representatives, legislators’ assistants, professors, accountants and lawyers.
When asked if Ko’s aide Taipei City Government adviser Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如) had been shortlisted for the TPP’s legislative-at-large nominees list, Chang said he had not yet received any news of it.
Responding to reporters’ questions about whether the party might cooperate with the New Power Party in the legislative election, TPP spokesperson Chen Su-yu (陳思宇) said minor parties have the power to monitor the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party at the Legislative Yuan.
The TPP would not exclude the possibility of working with other parties on some issues, but it has not discussed it yet, she said.
As for the cooperation or competition with former Hon Hai Precision Industry chairman Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) team, they said the TPP has not discussed it with Guo’s team, but if both sides nominate legislative candidates in the same constituency, they would try to negotiate and accept the possibility of cooperating on some issues.
Police have issued warnings against traveling to Cambodia or Thailand when others have paid for the travel fare in light of increasing cases of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people being tricked into traveling to these countries and then being held for ransom. Recounting their ordeal, one victim on Monday said she was asked by a friend to visit Thailand and help set up a bank account there, for which they would be paid NT$70,000 to NT$100,000 (US$2,136 to US$3,051). The victim said she had not found it strange that her friend was not coming along on the trip, adding that when she
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
The Civil Aviation Administration yesterday said that it is considering punishments for China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines for making hard landings and overworking their cabin crew when the nation was hit by Typhoon Kong-rey in October last year. The civil aviation authority launched an investigation after media reported that many airlines were forced to divert their flights to different airports or go around after failing to land when the typhoon affected the nation on Oct. 30 and 31 last year. The agency reviewed 503 flights dispatched by Taiwanese airlines during those two days, as well as weather data, flight hours
Three people have had their citizenship revoked after authorities confirmed that they hold Chinese ID cards, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday. Two of the three people were featured in a recent video about Beijing’s “united front” tactics by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), including Su Shi-en (蘇士恩), who displayed a Chinese ID card in the video, and taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien (李東憲), who mentioned he had obtained a Chinese ID card in a telephone call with Chen, Liang told the council’s weekly news conference. Lee, who reportedly worked in
RSS