By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Given the option independence or unification with China, a majority of Taiwanese prefer independence over unification, an opinion poll released yesterday showed.
Asked about their position on cross-strait relations, 66 percent of respondents supported the “status quo,” 24 percent wanted independence and 7 percent supported unification with China, according to the survey conducted by cable news channel TVBS between Thursday last week and Monday.
MORE PRIMARIES SET:An opinion poll will be conducted tonight for the Pingtung County commissioner race and one will be conducted on Nov. 18 in Nantou County
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former Keelung mayor Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) will be the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) nominee for the Yunlin County commissioner election next year after Lee won the party primary yesterday.
Lee beat two other contenders in a public opinion poll conducted on Tuesday by three survey companies, earning a support rate of 29.96 percent, DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) told a press conference.
HOT WATER:Former vice president Lien Chan’s daughter could face up to two years in jail for violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act if she is Geneherb’s chief executive
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Lien Hui-hsin (連惠心), daughter of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), was listed as a defendant yesterday for her role in a case involving her investment in a nutrition supplement company whose weight-loss pills were found to contain unauthorized drugs.
Previously listed as a witness, Lien Hui-hsin was subpoenaed yesterday evening as a defendant by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office after days of speculation about her role at Geneherbs Biotechnology Co (菁茵荋生物科技), whose weight-loss product Wellslim Plus+ was confirmed to contain banned substance, cetilistat, a lipase inhibitor designed to treat obesity.
SWEATSHOP?Only Fu Jen University and the National Defense Medical Center provide insurance coverage for most part-time staff, legislators said
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Only 2 percent of the more than 80,000 temporary assistants taking part in National Science Council (NSC) research projects in collaboration with universities nationwide are covered by the labor insurance and national health insurance (NHI) programs, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday.
“University campuses should not be sweatshops and these workers should not be orphans excluded from the social security net,” DPP legislators Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) and Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) told a press conference, urging the Ministry of Education to warn universities not to violate the law, and the Council of Labor Affairs to immediately carry out inspections and fine offenders.
UNPUBLISHED:The KMT legislator alleged that former president Chen Shui-bian signed deals on the handling of Taiwan’s nuclear waste in China
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) both instructed the signing of unpublished agreements with China regarding the storage of Taiwan’s nuclear waste in Gansu Province in China, a lawmaker said yesterday in a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan.
Siew, who was premier from 1997 to 2000 and later served as vice president, asked Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to sign a nuclear waste storage deal with Beijing when he was premier, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said yesterday.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that she will take a neutral position in the upcoming party primaries for the seven-in-one elections next year amid controversy after one candidate claimed to be endorsed by her.
Tsai said in a press release yesterday that she gave her blessings to all aspirants in the primaries and would try to assist them all, but would stay neutral during the primary process.
BUILDING BLOCKS:The DPP said the trade agreement is beneficial to both nations, and urged the government to continue pursuing similar pacts with other trade partners
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
A free-trade agreement (FTA) between Taiwan and New Zealand was passed by the Legislative Yuan yesterday, the first FTA Taiwan has signed with a non-diplomatic ally.
Lawmakers across party lines lauded the bilateral economic cooperation agreement, the first FTA with a country other than China that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has signed since 2008, saying that it was a step forward in Taiwan’s participation in regional economic integration.
SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIO:Lien Chan said he did not want any ‘improper influence’ in the probe of Geneherbs’ diet pills and that he had full confidence in his daughter
By Mo Yan-chih and Chris Wang / Staff reporters
Former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) yesterday defended his daughter Lien Hui-hsin’s (連惠心) investment in a nutrition supplement company whose weight-loss pills were found to contain unauthorized drugs, and said there may be political influence behind the investigation into the company.
Lien Hui-hsin on Sunday admitted she had invested in Geneherbs Biotechnology Co (菁茵荋生物科技). She had previously denied any involvement in the management of the firm.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday accused the National Science Council (NSC) of concealing information relating to the adulteration of edible oil for two years, and a non-profit company of malfeasance for issuing good manufacturing practice (GMP) certificates to the two companies at the center of the scandal — Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory Co (大統長基) and Flavor Full Food Inc (富味鄉).
A research project on sesame oil products sponsored by the council in 2011 found that four of the seven products on the market contained between 31 percent and 44 percent soybean oil, but the council did not disclose the full project report and has refused to provide details, DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) told a news conference.
‘IMMEDIATE DANGER’:The DPP and TSU criticized the forum’s recommendation to push for the trade service pact’s ratification, despite the lack of public support for it
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The pan-green camp yesterday criticized the 19-point recommendation reached by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Sunday, saying it showed contempt for the legislature and the mainstream opinions of the 23 million Taiwanese.
The recommendation, reached and announced at the ninth KMT-CCP forum that was concluded on Sunday in Nanning, China, listed the implementation of the cross-strait service trade agreement as a top priority.