Su, Yu deny New Taipei candidacy replacement rumors

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and the party’s New Taipei City mayoral candidate, former premier Yu Shyi-kun, yesterday reiterated that reports of Su replacing Yu in the November race were groundless.

A report on Storm Media, an online news Web site, said last week that if Su lost in his re-election bid in the chairman race in May, the chairman might seek to replace Yu in the New Taipei City mayoral election to prolong his political career.

DPP tackles low birthrate in new education policy

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Thu, Feb 27, 2014 - Page 3

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday unveiled a new education policy focused on tackling the challenges of the nation’s low birthrate, the imbalanced development of secondary education, and the supervision and management of private universities.

Education is one of the most important policy areas with regard to Taiwan’s competitiveness, especially since the nation has one of the lowest birthrates in the world, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told a press conference.

DPP condemns premier’s ‘midnight ambush’

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) caucus yesterday condemned what it called the Cabinet’s “hasty and surprising” reshuffle for disrepecting the legislature, as it demanded suspending the ongoing interpellation of Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) because the ministerial changes rendered it meaningless.

The DPP caucus said the reshuffle late on Tuesday night was “another midnight ambush” by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.

Recognition of two further indigenous populations sought

UNIQUE:The two groups’ cultures and languages have been proven different from that of the Tsou group, under which they now are identified, a lawmaker said
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan could recognize its 15th and 16th indigenous groups — the Hla’alua and the Kanakanvu — a government official in charge of Aboriginal affairs said yesterday.

“My ministry is optimistic that the two groups, currently recognized as part of the Tsou group of Greater Kaohsiung, would be recognized separately very soon once a territory issue is resolved,” Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Mayaw Dongi (林江義) told a Legislative Yuan plenary session.

Peng, Koo build ‘submarine’ legal team

WARCRAFT:The non-KMT ‘submarine’ legal team will combat Sean Lien’s ‘aircraft carrier’ team, defending people sued by Lien in the election, Neil Peng said
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Two Taipei mayoral hopefuls have united to assemble a voluntary legal team in preparation for potential legal battles against former Taipei EasyCard Co chairman Sean Lien (連勝文).

Lien, who is a son of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Taipei mayoral hopeful, boasted a strong legal team as part of his campaign office.

Lawmaker calls for executions

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) yesterday demanded the execution of 45 death row inmates, saying that Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) should step down if she failed to see it done.

“All expenditure for death row inmates is illegally allocated budget, and 45 of the 52 inmates — seven were awaiting rulings from their extraordinary appeals — could be executed right after this session,” Wu said in a plenary session of the Legislative Yuan.

EDITORIAL: Avoid outrageous religious rhetoric

There have been several different divisions and tensions during the six decades since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime lost the Chinese Civil War and fled to Taiwan — ethnic tensions between Taiwanese and Mainlanders, and ideological tensions between independence and unification, to name two — with some remaining to this day.

Fortunately, it appeared that religious tensions had never been among them.

In Taiwan, where people are predominantly followers of Taoism and Buddhism, seeing a church sitting right next to a temple on the same street is so common that people do not find anything strange about it. Believers of different faiths usually get along without any problem.

Sean Lien has to address ‘princeling’ status: DPP

LIEN LEGACY:While being rich is not a sin, Sean Lien cannot avoid public scrutiny of the source of his family’s wealth and their alleged close ties to China
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien (連勝文) will have to address the public’s biggest doubt about his Taipei mayoral bid — his “princeling” status — despite a pledge to donate all his salary to charity to ease those concerns, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its mayoral contenders said yesterday.

The DPP will do whatever it takes to end the “princeling regime” in the nation’s capital, party spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said in response to Lien’s announcement yesterday morning.

Show host questions Lien family’s financial dealings

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien (連勝文), who yesterday announced his bid for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral primary, and his family members may have benefited from insider trading, political pundit Clara Chou (周玉蔻) said yesterday.

Chou, a News 98 radio show host, aired her allegations at a news conference in Taipei about half an hour before Lien’s own press conference to confirm his bid.

Over 300 officials violate China travel rules: TSU

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

More than 300 public servants traveled to China between 2006 and this year, posing a serious risk to national security, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislative caucus told a news conference yesterday.

Citing data provided by various government agencies, the TSU caucus said 366 officials, including those from the military, police and the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau, had traveled illegally to China during the past seven years.