Mayoral candidates in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan should address the concerns of millennials at forums ahead of the local elections in November, a coalition of college student unions said yesterday.
National Students’ Union of Taiwan president Huang Ting-wei (黃亭偉) said the coalition is planning a series of forums in the three cities, the publication of a youth policy white paper and to charter buses to take students to the districts where they are registered to vote on Nov. 26
Mayoral candidates are invited to join the events, which involve the efforts of nearly 20 colleges and universities in the three cities, he said, asking the candidates to respond to the invitation before the end of this month.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
The youth policy white paper is to be created in collaboration with policy experts and would touch upon culture, democracy, freedom, human rights and economy, focusing on the three northern special municipalities, union managing director Chen Ssu-yu (陳思妤) said.
The document is expected to be published next month, she added.
Candidates in Taipei should lend their ears to students who are not registered to vote in the city, but study, live and work there, as city policy affects their livelihood, National Taiwan University Student Association president Sun Yu-chien (孫語謙) said.
None of the Taipei mayoral candidates have put forward a coherent program on youth policy or a vision for the future of the city, former National Chengchi University Student Association president Ke Chia-wei (柯嘉偉) said.
“Young people are not interested in political strife or spittle,” he said. “Candidates should leave their baggage behind and try to listen.”
Young people in New Taipei City want the city government to deal with infrastructure and housing issues that lie outside the scope of the New Taipei City Youth Development Office, National Taipei University Sanxia Campus Student Association president Lee Chih-yu (李芝玉) said.
Local governments must offer more than lip service to young people, and start treating them as partners in dialogue and voters deserving of respect, New Taipei City Youth Public Affairs Association president Hisao Jen-yu (蕭任祐) said.
Taoyuan has the youngest population of any locality in Taiwan and therefore carries a greater responsibility to involve young people in creating a vision for the city’s future, Yuan Ze University student association president Liu Yao-wei (劉曜維) said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated