Han Kuo-yu to run for speaker
Han Kuo-yu to run for speakerBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator-at-large-elect Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday announced that he is teaming up with KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) to run for legislative speaker and deputy speaker respectively, although Chiang said he would make way for a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislator to become deputy speaker if the party is willing to work with the KMT. Former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu, right, embraces Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang, second right, at a campaign event in Taichung on Dec. 23 last year. Asked on Tuesday about being Han’s deputy, TPP legislator-at-large-elect Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said that he has “absolutely no interest” in being deputy speaker. According to the Method for Mutual Election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker by Legislators (立法委員互選院長副院長辦法), one-third of the 113-member legislature must be present to form a quorum, and the speaker and deputy speaker must obtain more than half of the votes from the attendees. The speaker and deputy speaker could also be re-elected, but more than one-third of all legislators must propose such a motion and more than two-thirds of the attendees must approve the re-election.
Source:Taipei Times
January 18, 2024 23:00 UTC
‘Little Grass Card’ claim a smear tactic, TPP says
‘Little Grass Card’ claim a smear tactic, TPP saysBy Lin Tse-yuan and Jason Pan / Staff reportersThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on Wednesday decried accusations of cultivating “cult-like religious zealots,” by allegedly enticing students to attend political events and paying for “youth membership” in the TPP, calling it a politically motivated attempt to smear the party. The accusation stems from a post on the Facebook group “Love Agro Girl” (農藝女孩看世界) on Wednesday by someone claiming to be the mother of a 16-year-old high-school student who purchased one of the “Little Grass” cards (小草識別證). “My kid proudly showed me a ‘Little Grass Card’ with his name and photo, and said that many of his friends also got one. Someone arranged for a bus trip to Taipei to attend a TPP campaign event, and they all paid NT$500 to get this card,” she wrote. Lee also said that the “Little Grass” card was different from the youth credentials issued by the party, and asked for more clarity about the claims.
Source:Taipei Times
January 18, 2024 23:00 UTC
TPP rejects claims of large-scale voting fraud
TPP rejects claims of large-scale voting fraudBy Kayleigh Madjar and Jake Chung / Staff writersTaiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday rejected claims of large-scale voter fraud in Saturday’s presidential election, saying it was unlikely in Taiwan’s mature democracy. Following Ko’s third-place finish in the presidential election, some of his supporters have suggested that voter fraud was to blame for the discrepancy between the party’s polling and the official results. Although some minor voting anomalies in the election were possible, large-scale fraud is unlikely in a mature democracy like Taiwan’s, he said. Despite the conclusion of the presidential election, people continue to spread false allegations on online against the commission and its staff, it said in a news release. Even if some individuals failed to observe regulations, they were isolated cases, and, despite claims, ballot-rigging is impossible, the commission said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 17, 2024 21:40 UTC
Direction of voting rights reform
Direction of voting rights reformBy Jiang Zung-shiang 江榮祥Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections have attracted the attention of the international community, and Taiwan’s voting procedure has generated much discussion and debate. While some have praised Taiwan’s voting system as transparent and prudent, some have called it obsolete for not incorporating electronic voting, postal voting and prepoll voting. Nevertheless, the linking between place of residence and voting rights have inconvenienced people and prevented those working or studying abroad, polling station staff and on-duty security officers from exercising their voting rights, while prisoners are also deprived of their rights. If the government wishes to introduce prepoll voting, postal voting or electronic voting, to ensure privacy and information security, it should wait until the technology matures and society reaches a consensus on the issue. To protect the voting rights of every citizen, conducting “nonresidence voting” by allowing people to vote near one’s place of study or work is a feasible direction for reform.
Source:Taipei Times
January 17, 2024 21:40 UTC
The Liberty Times Editorial: Taiwanese again choose democracy
The Liberty Times Editorial: Taiwanese again choose democracyDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate William Lai (賴清德), who has been vice president during President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) second term in office, and his running mate, former representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), on Saturday emerged victorious with 5,586,019 votes, or 40.05 percent of the total. As for the DPP, would the incoming and somewhat weakened Lai administration surmount internal and external challenges to lead Taiwanese along the right path? The outcome of the presidential election shows that mainstream public opinion is focused on safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty and democracy and not leaning toward China. Electing a president who would firmly safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty shows that unification with China is not an option for Taiwanese. On the other hand, they should take more pragmatic actions to overcome hardness through softness, thus showing the world that Taiwan is gentle, yet determined.
Source:Taipei Times
January 16, 2024 17:05 UTC
Teenagers with more siblings have worse mental health: study
Teenagers with more siblings have worse mental health: studyBy Ian Sample / The GuardianFrom Cain and Abel and the Brothers Karamazov to Cinderella, the warmth and support provided by siblings has hardly been taken for granted. In China, the teenagers with no siblings fared best for mental health. In the US, children who had no siblings or only one were found to have similar mental health. Overall, mental health was worse the more siblings the teenagers had, with greater impacts seen for teenagers with older siblings, and when brothers and sisters were closely spaced in age. Meanwhile, a 2016 study of more than 100,000 Norwegian children found better mental health across the ages in larger families.
Source:Taipei Times
January 16, 2024 17:05 UTC
EDITORIAL: Taiwan offers an aspirational ideal
EDITORIAL: Taiwan offers an aspirational idealThe highly anticipated election season drew to a close on Saturday, with Taiwanese giving their vote of confidence to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for a historic third term. International media watched the election with keen interest, flocking to Taiwan with more urgency than in previous votes. The DPP might have kept the presidency, but it was largely the fault of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) failing to agree on a united ballot. China’s biggest message so far came yesterday with Nauru’s termination of diplomatic relations, leaving Taiwan with only 12 formal diplomatic allies. As one of the first countries to hold an election this year, Taiwan offers an ideal to aspire to.
Source:Taipei Times
January 16, 2024 03:38 UTC
Concern about vote distribution
It is the first time since Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996 that a party has won more than two consecutive presidential elections. Rather than being excited, I am concerned about the vote share. Among the three presidential candidates and their running mates, the Lai-Hsiao ticket should have been our only choice in terms of experience, ability, words, deeds, attitude and so on. However, their vote share failed to exceed the total of the KMT and TPP candidates, which means that Taiwanese are not as persistent on sovereignty and self-governance. Hong Tsun-ming, originally from Hong Kong, is a specialist in the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s international section.
Source:Taipei Times
January 16, 2024 03:36 UTC
TPP wants speaker to back reforms
TPP wants speaker to back reformsTHIRD FORCE: With no party holding a legislative majority, the TPP said it would use its eight seats to back a speaker who would be held accountable and promote transparencyStaff writer, with CNATaiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers yesterday said that before backing a legislative speaker, they would assess candidates’ support for transparency and oversight reforms. The new batch of lawmakers are to be sworn in on Feb. 1 and elect a legislative speaker. Newly elected Taiwan People’s Party legislators hold placards at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. A legislative speaker should be required to give a detailed account of how they spent their stipend and not be allowed to label such expenses as “sensitive” or “classified” information, he added. Regarding whether Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?)
Source:Taipei Times
January 15, 2024 17:04 UTC
Tsai, politicians mourn pioneer Shih Ming-te
Tsai, politicians mourn pioneer Shih Ming-teStaff writer, with CNAPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other politicians yesterday mourned the passing of veteran democracy activist Shih Ming-te (施明德). Shih, a former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman, died at the age of 83 yesterday after battling cancer for years. In a Facebook post, Tsai described Shih as a pioneer of democracy and human rights who devoted himself to the democratic movement during Taiwan’s authoritarian period. Democracy advocate Shih Ming-te is pictured in Taipei on Dec. 10, 2018. “Former chairman Shih was a trailblazer for democracy, a staunch defender of human rights, and a wise and courageous politician,” Lai said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 15, 2024 17:04 UTC
EDITORIAL: Economic challenges await Lai
EDITORIAL: Economic challenges await LaiWith Vice President William Lai (賴清德) winning the presidential election, but his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) failing to secure a majority in the legislature on Saturday, his administration is poised to face challenges over the next four years. Unlike the other two candidates who talked about restarting ECFA negotiations with China, Lai focused on assisting local industries through digital transformation and advocates innovation-driven models to improve firms’ operations. The government’s incentive packages also led to 1,400 companies investing more than NT$2.1 trillion in Taiwan from 2019 to last year. Due to changes in global politics and economic situations, Taiwanese industries face pressure to transform. Furthermore, the difficult tasks of accelerating wage growth, creating jobs for young people and promoting talent development also await him.
Source:Taipei Times
January 14, 2024 16:55 UTC
2024 Elections Reporter’s notebook: Questions on Ko, others’ post-election roles in the TPP
2024 Elections Reporter’s notebook: Questions on Ko, others’ post-election roles in the TPPBy Huang Ching-hsuan / Staff reporterIt remains to be seen whether there is a future for the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), seen by some as a one-man party centered on its chairman, Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), and whether he could settle the differences among in-party factions. The large crowd at the TPP’s election-eve campaign rally on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei also demonstrated Ko supporters’ strong cohesion. By winning 22.07 percent of the party votes in the legislative elections, the TPP secured eight legislator-at-large seats — fewer than its initial expectation. For one, former TPP secretary-general Hsieh Li-kung (謝立功) says Ko’s campaign chief of staff Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) ought to be held accountable for the election results. Aside from those who predominate the party’s legislative caucus — legislator-at-large-elects Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Lin Kuo-cheng (林國成) — there are still unclear variables.
Source:Taipei Times
January 14, 2024 16:55 UTC
KMT wins 52 legislative seats, DPP bags 51 and TPP eight
KMT wins 52 legislative seats, DPP bags 51 and TPP eightTHREE AT LARGE: Only the DPP, KMT and TPP crossed the threshold to receive legislator-at-large seats, with the DPP and KMT each winning 13 and the TPP eightBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterNo party won a majority of legislative seats in yesterday’s elections, with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) taking 51 seats and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) taking 52 seats. Former KMT legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆) — accused by his opponent, DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), of corruption and dishonest property declarations — won in Taichung’s second electoral district. Photo: CNAThe KMT’s Sean Liao (廖偉翔), another candidate endorsed by both the KMT and TPP, beat incumbent DPP Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) to win Taichung’s first electoral district. Among the 16 parties that submitted legislator-at-large candidate lists, only three — the DPP, the KMT and the TPP — crossed the 5-percentage-point threshold to be awarded seats in the legislature. The KMT received 13 seats through 34.58 percent of party votes, while the TPP won eight seats with 22.07 percent of party votes.
Source:Taipei Times
January 14, 2024 10:42 UTC
Presidential Election: This is only the beginning, Ko Wen-je says
A Taiwan People’s Party supporter wipes away tears during a rally at the party’s headquarters in New Taipei City yesterday. Ko said the party has achieved the impossible by running its election campaign solely with small donations, and the model would have a positive impact on the nation’s political development. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je, center, bows to his supporters at a rally in New Taipei City last night. While he did not directly concede defeat, Ko said: “We must work hard for Taiwan’s future and save our future by ourselves. She said that although political talk shows constantly attacked Ko, he continued to fight back.
Source:Taipei Times
January 13, 2024 21:38 UTC
Presidential Election: Lai’s victory sparks jubilation
Presidential Election: Lai’s victory sparks jubilationSTART-TO-END LEAD: Taiwanese have defended their democratic system against external forces that have attempted to influence the vote, Lai saidCrowds packed the streets around the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei last night to celebrate its victory in the presidential election, giving Vice President William Lai (賴清德) and his party the mandate to lead Taiwan for the next four years. The ticket of Lai and former representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) led from the initial tallies in the afternoon right through the evening. Democratic Progressive Party supporters cheer at a victory rally at the party’s headquarters in Taipei last night. Democratic Progressive Party supporters hold flags and signs at a victory rally at the party’s headquarters in Taipei last night. Third, the DPP Lai-Hsiao ticket received the most support, with the most votes among the three political parties in the presidential race, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 13, 2024 17:55 UTC