The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday rejected a local news report saying that its staff have been using the party’s caucus office in the Legislative Yuan as their working space, while confirming that it has made progress in finding new party headquarters.
The Chinese-language Mirror Media magazine reported that nearly 20 TPP party officials and staff have been “parasitizing” the party’s caucus office.
The magazine said it had received a tip-off that as the TPP’s workers are not employees of the Legislative Yuan, they do not have the work card required to enter the Legislative Yuan’s caucus office building, but the party provided a list of its staff to the building’s security and they were given permission to enter daily.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan People’s Party
The TPP staff who used the caucus office are from the party’s advertising department, and a video uploaded by the party on YouTube, in which an advertising department employee introduced the party’s secretary general, was filmed there, the magazine said.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the TPP chairman, has often stressed the importance of financial discipline, but allowing the party’s workers to use the caucus office — for which the electricity and phone bills are paid by the Legislative Yuan — seemed to be taking advantage of the government, the report said.
TPP spokesman Tsai Chun-wei (蔡峻維) said that all the people who are working at the office support the TPP legislative caucus by quickly replying to public opinions and assisting its operations.
The party rejects the claim that it is a parasite in the Legislative Yuan, as that is inconsistent with the facts, he said.
The TPP has been searching for a bigger space for its headquarters since last year, but many landlords have concerns over renting to political parties, Tsai said, adding that some progress has been made in finding a property, and the details would be announced if further progress is made.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
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
RSS