Taipei Times
Date: Jan 08, 2016
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff Reporter
Representatives from more than 30 civic groups yesterday urged voters to
Anti-Poverty Alliance convener Chien Hsi-chieh, fifth right, Garden of Hope Foundation chief executive officer Chi Hui-jung, sixth right, and others raise their fists in support of “third force” candidates outside the legislature in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
support “third force” parties in the legislative elections on Saturday next week.
Members of the Anti-Poverty Alliance, Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, Garden of Hope Foundation and other groups stood outside the Legislative Yuan shouting slogans calling for voters to support “third force” parties with “ideals” and “civic consciousness,” which they said represented the “hope of the nation” in a crucial election.
The groups endorsed the New Power Party (NPP), the Green Party-Social Democratic Party Alliance and the Trees Party (樹黨), with numerous representatives urging undecided voters to vote for the Alliance. The parties all have close ties with civic groups, whose members comprise the majority of their candidates and leadership.
“We cannot see vision in any of the major parties and we know that during their governance over the last 16 years, they have backtracked on numerous promises they had made to the public,” Promotion Alliance for a Just and Ecological Society convener Chang Tse-chou (張則周) said. “If we are to hope that Taiwan becomes a more just and democratic nation, we have to have a vision, and we can clearly see that the new political forces have such a vision and deserve our support.” [FULL STORY]
