Politics

CHTHONIC Singer FREDDY LIM Elected Legislator In Taiwan

BlabberMouth.net
Date: January 16, 2016

According to Focus Taiwan, Freddy Lim, frontman of the Taiwanese metal band CHTHONIC, was elected Saturday (January 16) as a legislator in Taipei’s 5th District. The singer defeated veteran legislator Lin Yu-fang of the Kuomintang by more than 6,000 votes.

Famous for his long hair and tattoos, Lim was the first rock star in Eastern Asia to run for office and is standing for a brand new political party — the New Power Party (NPP) — which is leading the pro-democracy Youth movement in Taiwan.

A longtime political activist, frontman Freddy Lim recently lent his public profile to several social movements.

The NPP was founded in January 2015 as a brand new political party and emerged from the Sunflower student movement of the previous year, which Lim was at the forefront of. They are advocates for universal human rights, civil and political liberties and protecting Taiwan’s independence as a sovereign state. The party’s main policy is “Transitional Justice,” which, lyrically, has been covered in all of CHTHONIC’s studio albums.

Many of the polls show that the NPP has risen up to the third biggest party in Taiwan as young people reject the ruling KMT party which lists reunification with mainland China among its core policies.

Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/chthonic-singer-freddy-lim-elected-legislator-in-taiwan/#0Czk63Gt8qymMKce.99

No meddling in autonomy: Wu

QUESTION: A ribbon-tying event by NTU students in support of Kuan Chung-ming might have been organized by a New Party member through Facebook, a netizen said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 30, 2018
By: Ann Maxon  /  Staff reporter

The Ministry of Education has not undermined university autonomy and Kuan Chung-

Minister of Education Wu Maw-kuen speaks to reporters in Taipei yesterday.  Photo: CNA

ming (管中閔) is not qualified to be National Taiwan University (NTU) president, because he has breached academic principles of integrity, Minister of Education Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆) said yesterday.

“We have never interfered with university autonomy,” Wu said in response to reporters’ questions as he arrived at a promotional event for an education exhibition at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山文創園區) in Taipei.

The election of a university president is not an actual election, but a selection process in which a school’s election committee tries to find the most suitable person, Wu said.

“A president must meet certain standards, but there is plenty of evidence suggesting that National Taiwan University’s selection process was flawed and that there were breaches of academic integrity,” he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Huang wins DPP polls in Tainan mayoral primary

FIERCE BATTLE: Legislator Chen Ting-fei, who also stood in the primary, said she would not retract a lawsuit filed against accusations by Huang amid intense competition

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 09, 2018
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) yesterday

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-che, who won the party’s Tainan mayoral election primary yesterday, campaigns on Wednesday.  Photo: Wan Yu-chen, Taipei Times

celebrated a landslide victory against five competitors in the party’s primary opinion polls for Tainan for the Nov. 26 nine-in-one elections.

The DPP announced the combined results of three opinion polls conducted by telephone on Wednesday, which showed Huang crushing his rivals, DPP legislators Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃), Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) and Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), as well as former Tainan deputy mayor Yen Chun-tso (顏純左) and former DPP legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅).

Huang received support from 41.58 percent of respondents, easily outrunning Chen’s 28.17 percent, followed by Yen’s 6.72 percent, Wang’s 5.13 percent, Lee’s 2.11 percent and Yeh’s 0.76 percent.

Huang thanked supporters while calling for party unity given the rhetoric-laden mudslinging competition that developed between candidates.    [FULL  STORY]

Survey finds Mayor Ko likely to beat DPP, KMT candidates in election

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/28
By: Tsai Chia-ling and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Feb. 28 (CNA) A survey of eligible voters in Taipei City found that incumbent

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲)/CNA file photo

Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) enjoys a lead over all the candidates who have so far thrown their hat in the mayoral race ring regardless of whether the ruling Democratic Progressive Party chooses to back him or not.

The Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation revealed the results of its survey Saturday which found that 54.6 percent of respondents were satisfied with Ko’s performance as mayor while 39.4 percent were not.

With a majority of voters in the city approving of his performance, Ko is heading into this year’s November mayoral election as the front runner, with the survey showing that in a race against the Kuomintang’s Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) and the DPP’s Pasuya Yao (姚文智), Ko would receive 47.6 percent support, followed by Ting with 25.2 percent and Yao at 15.6 percent.    [FULL  STORY]

No timetable for Cabinet reshuffle: Premier

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-02-22

Premier William Lai says he will announce a Cabinet reshuffle when the time is right.

Premier William Lai says there is no timetable for a Cabinet reshuffle. (CNA photo)

That’s the word from Lai when he was questioned on the issue during a press conference on new government policies for promoting investment and startups on Thursday.

There have been rumors that there were going to be some changes in the Cabinet, which included the heads of the foreign, defense and other ministries.

Lai had said at the end of January that there were no plans when asked about the possibility of a reshuffle.    [FULL  STORY]

KMT should unite behind Lu’s Taichung bid: Chiang

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 21, 2018
By Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday called for

From left, former Taichung mayor Jason Hu, his wife, Shaw Hsiao-ling, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang’s wife, Liu Tzu-ling, and Chiang are pictured in Taichung yesterday.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times, from Johnny Chiang’s Facebook profile

unified support for his colleague Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), who is expected to receive the KMT’s official nomination as its Taichung mayoral candidate today.

Lu earlier this month edged out Chiang by a narrow margin of about 0.6 percent in opinion polls for the party’s primary for the mayoral post, securing a support rating of 50.308 percent against Chiang’s 49.692 percent.

“The 0.6 margin does not and will not change my love for Taichung. I will not be absent from a campaign that would shape the city’s future development,” Chiang said on Facebook after former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) paid him a visit at his residence in Taichung earlier yesterday.

The KMT’s Taichung mayoral candidate would no doubt do their utmost to form a strong campaign team in the hope of winning back the municipality, one that he said would not only include himself, but many other talented people, Chiang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese-American throws hat in ring for Congressional bid

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/02/20
By Tsao Yu-fan and Ko Lin

Los Angeles, Feb. 19 (CNA) When Jay Chen (陳介飛) declared his intention to seek the nomination of the Democratic Party for the 39th Congressional District of California in January, the news of his bid attracted a wave of support from outside the United States.

A Hacienda Heights resident and son of immigrant parents from Taipei and Chiayi, Chen attended Hacienda Heights public schools and earned a Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship to attend Harvard University, from which he graduated with honors.

Although currently the only Taiwanese-American politicians in Congress are Grace Meng (孟昭文) and Ted Lieu (劉雲平), the lifelong Democrat said he will do his utmost to serve his district and hopes that his relatives and friends back in Taiwan can be proud of him should he receive the nomination.    [FULL  STORY]

Lai and Wu leave private meeting upbeat

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 04, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday vowed he would act on suggestions made by

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman and former vice president Wu Den-yih, left, Premier William Lai, second left, and Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming shake hands yesterday as Lai made a courtesy call at Wu’s former vice presidential office in Taipei.  Photo: CNA

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) in a meeting between the two, which was seen as a precursor to a cross-party leaders’ meeting on reforms proposed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) last month.

The meeting was officially described as being between the “incumbent premier and a former premier.” It took place as Wu seems reluctant to join Tsai’s proposed cross-party leaders’ reform meeting.

Wu served as premier between 2009 and 2012 under then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), before joining Ma’s re-election ticket in the 2012 presidential race and serving as vice president for the next four years.

Lai arrived at Wu’s s office in the company of Executive Yuan officials and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘). Wu greeted him by the elevator door before the two retreated to closed doors meeting for about 70 minutes.

DPP tops donation chart as KMT reports deficit

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 11, 2017
By: Tseng Wei-chen  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) received NT$147 million (US$4.90 million) in political donations last year, the most of all political parties and about NT$25 million more than the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), a report published by the Control Yuan last week said.

The report showed the DPP received NT$106 million from individuals and NT$36.66 million from corporations, while it spent NT$115.97 million.

The party spent NT$33.99 million on personnel, NT$37.65 million on general business, NT$27.51 million on election campaigning and NT$5.72 million funding candidates, according to the report.

The KMT received NT$122 million in donations, NT$65.75 million of which came from individuals and NT$55.16 million from corporations, the report said, adding that it spent NT$38.96 million on personnel, NT$60.45 million on general business, NT$36.38 million on election campaigns and NT$24.06 million on candidate funding.
[FULL  STORY]

Balloons, flour, scuffles, no work

COMMITTEE SESSION:Sixteen KMT lawmakers attended the review of the infrastructure development program’s special budget. Both sides appeared well-prepared for clashes

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 20, 2017
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter

Chaos erupted again at the legislature yesterday, as more than a dozen Chinese

Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers yesterday hold up placards in an attempt to protect themselves from a barrage of water balloons thrown by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers bombarded their Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) colleagues with water balloons, flour and eggs during a cross-committee meeting to review budget proposals for the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.

The KMT lawmakers’ actions prompted the DPP caucus to push through the special budget and 126 motions to another cross-committee review, which means the special budget passed its intial review.

KMT caucus members first tried to filibuster the proceedings.

However, as soon as the last KMT lawmaker finished speaking, DPP Legislator Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), who chaired the meeting, instructed an emcee to read the motions tendered by the DPP, the New Power Party (NPP) and the People First Party (PFP).
[FULL  STORY]