TPP loses only councilor in Nantou after Chien Chian-hsiang leaves party

TPP loses only councilor in Nantou after Chien Chian-hsiang leaves party

2026-04-09

The Taiwan People’s Party has lost its only councilor in Nantou. Chien Chien-hsiang on Thrusday held a press conference to announce his withdrawal from the party. He is the first party member to do so since founder Ko Wen-je’s first-instance verdict in the a Core Pacific City corruption case. Chien says that the party’s internal operations have gone off track and increasingly out of line with his values. In response to his departure, former Party Chair Ko said that more people have been joining the party than leaving, while current Party Chair Huang Kuo-chang simply wished him well.

Chien Chian-hsiang
Nantou County Councilor
The party’s internal operating model has gone so far off track that decisions are being made based on people rather than principles. This direction and approach differ greatly from my own beliefs. Effective immediately, I am withdrawing from the Taiwan People’s Party. In the 2026 local council elections, I will run as an independent. As for the legal case involving former Chair Ko, I have nothing to comment at this time. I won’t harm him or kick him while he’s down at his lowest point. I can only say that the party’s values and mine have grown further and further apart. We are parting ways, and all that remains are my sincere well wishes.

Ko Wen-je
TPP founder
In any political party, people join and people leave. There’s nothing strange about that. Party central told me recently that the number of people joining seems to have increased. There’s more people joining than leaving.

Huang Kuo-chang
TPP Chair
For comrades we have worked with in the past, my principle is not to speak ill of them. I wish him a good future ahead.

Some commenters say that Chien’s departure could open the floodgates for more to defect. It remains to be seen whether that will be the case. Regardless, Chien’s announcement has sent shockwaves through the grassroots supporters of the party, and some fear it could impact the party’s prospects in the upcoming local elections later this year.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#tpp #defector #nantou #byebye #簡千翔

價值不同! 柯文哲宣判後"開第一槍" 南投議員簡千翔退黨

2026-04-09

民眾黨有人出走了！南投縣民眾黨唯一一席縣議員簡千翔召開記者會，宣布退出民眾黨，成為柯文哲一審宣判後第一人。簡千翔表示，黨內運作模式走鐘，和他價值漸行漸遠；對此，創黨主席柯文哲說，最近入黨的比退黨的多，而現任主席黃國昌則祝福他。

[[南投縣議員簡千翔]]
“黨內運作模式，已經走鐘到讓人覺得，是在看人辦事，這樣的路線跟做法，和我自己的主張，出現很大的落差，即刻起，退出民眾黨2026地方議員選舉，我也將以無黨籍參選。柯前主席的個人案件，我就不方便再多做評論，我不會在他最低潮的時候，去傷害他，落井下石，我只能說民眾黨跟我的價值，已經是漸行漸遠，分道揚鑣，我們剩下的只有聲聲的祝福”

[[民眾黨創黨主席柯文哲]]
“一個政黨本來就是會有人加入，有人退出，這也沒什麼奇怪，中央黨部跟我講，最近入黨人數好像，最近有增加，增加還是比退出多很多”

[[民眾黨主席黃國昌]]
“過去曾經一起努力過的同伴，我的原則就是不會口出惡言，希望他未來有更好的發展”

簡千翔退黨開了第一槍，無疑在民眾黨基層投下一枚震撼彈，是否醞釀一波跳船潮，恐衝擊白營2026地方選舉。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

Related News

Tainan fish farmers leave feast for migratory birds

Every winter, black-faced spoonbills migrate to Taiwan’s coastal wetlands. There are only 7,746 black-faced spoonbills worldwide, and over 2,000 of them have visited Tainan for six consecutive years. The Tainan City Government encourages fish farmers to lower water levels and leave small fish when their ponds close for the winter, turning them into a buffet for birds and helping protect the black-faced spoonbill.

A flock of black-face spoonbills land in a fishpond in Tainan. They use their long beaks to catch small fish.

The black-faced spoonbill migrates to Taiwan’s wetlands every winter. There are currently 7,746 of the birds worldwide, and Taiwan has recorded over 4,000 of them, with over 2,000 seen in Tainan for six consecutive years.

Huang Yung-feng
Tainan city conservationist
There are 410 more in Tainan this year, with a total of over 2,700. They tend to eat for three to five days, with up to 100 birds coming at once.

Fishponds usually close in the winter, so the Tainan City Government started giving fish farmers NT$10,000 per hectare to lower their water levels and leave small fish, making their ponds ideal fishing grounds for birds. Nearly 60 farmers responded, turning over 180 hectares of ponds into a fish buffet.

Tu Sung-yi
Fish farmer
Most fish farmers would probably be willing, because our ponds normally close for the winter anyway. If it was better promoted, I think everyone would be even more willing.

Chu Chien-ming
Tainan city agriculture official
The largest area since we started in 2021 has been 207 hectares. We hope that after their harvest, fish farmers can leave small fish in their ponds to increase food sources for black-face spoonbills.

Thanks in part to conservation efforts by Tainan and its fish farmers, the International Union for Conservation of Nature now lists black-faced spoonbills as threatened rather than endangered. After eating their fill, these migratory birds begin their journey back north.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#spoonbills #blackfacedspoonbills #Tainan #conservation #birds #fishfarmers #migratorybird

2026-04-09

Yunlin garlic farmers face heavy losses due to rain

2026-04-09

Shrimp fishing pool in Tainan stocks lobsters and king crabs

2026-04-09

Tourists flock to Chiayi to see swarms of fireflies

2026-04-09

Taiwan reclaims ASF-free status, resumes exporting pork

Taiwan is now officially free of African swine fever, following an outbreak in October last year. After the outbreak in Taichung, Taiwan authorities successfully brought down cases to zero in just a month. It’s regained its status, earlier this week, as a self-declared African swine fever-free area with the World Organisation for Animal Health. Following the good news, the meat industry is hoping to resume exports of pork products.

The worker washes hands following clinical protocol. He’s also wearing a cleanroom suit, fully covering his garments underneath. He also needs to get his whole body disinfected.

Only after completing all the steps above, is he allowed to enter the meat packaging line of Taiwan Farm Industry Company. Whole pigs have already been slaughtered with an automated system before entering this room, to be individually packed for consumers. Hopefully, exports will resume, because Taiwan has recently restored its status as a self-declared African swine fever-free area with the World Organisation for Animal Health, or WOAH.

Kao Huang-lin
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, MOA
Since December, we’ve been convening working group meetings and many expert panels. Every one of our colleagues and our leaders have tirelessly helped us review the documents, to be promptly submitted to the WOAH on Feb. 21, and ultimately published on April 6. This took only a little over a month. In comparison, the same application process took four months back in 2024, so it’s definitely much faster now. That also means that the contents of our submission were very thorough and detailed, and reviewed confidently by the experts at the WOAH.

Chang Hua-hsin
Taiwan Farm Industry Co.
Our epidemic prevention efforts were truly recognized by the whole world, meaning that our monitoring and sanitation standards give us a great edge among international competitors.

Now that pork products can soon be exported again, the company has sets it sight on Japan and Singapore for the time being.

Chang Hua-hsin
Taiwan Farm Industry Co.
It’s mainly because these two countries have relatively higher income. Moreover, Taiwan has a regional advantage. We can ship refrigerated meat to Singapore and Japan in a short period of time. Our geographical situation is really convenient, and really advantageous in both scale and distance.

Yu Chun-ming
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, MOA
In 2027, we’re abolishing using kitchen waste as pig slop. This year will be a transition period, meaning we’ll enforce monitoring guidelines on thorough steaming and cooking. Relevant regulations must also be in place. Therefore, starting this year, we’re focusing on monitoring kitchen waste as well as inspections.

The Ministry of Agriculture says that Taiwan is once again the only country in Asia free of three major swine diseases. The ministry also says that they’ll continue coordinating with relevant authorities, such as in customs enforcement, market inspections and domestic epidemic prevention, in order to improve international competitiveness of Taiwan’s agricultural and meat products.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#agriculture #meat #trade #pork #ASF

2026-04-09

Formosan black bear mother and cub released after 1 year in care

2026-04-09

ITRI showcases breakthrough techs in panel-level chip packaging

The Industrial Technology Research Institute, or ITRI is showcasing three cutting-edge technologies at the “Touch Taiwan” trade show, currently held at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei. The new technologies promise to improve yield and reduce costs by as much as 30%. Let’s take a look.

The latest in display manufacturing is to upgrade panel-level packaging processes by developing advanced through glass via, or TGV substrates. A successful breakthrough was made by ITRI, with an all-solution processed next-generation metallization technology. This solves the problem of discontinuities in packaging substrates, and reduces costs by as much as 30%.

Huang Meng-chi
ITRI Mechanical and Mechatronics Systems Lab
Our current generation which we’re showcasing now is glass. But our team is actually starting to develop versions with silicon carbide or similar materials. These are more effective at dissipating heat than glass. Actually, our current technology can be applied to silicon carbides. In the entire semiconductor manufacturing process, plasma is probably utilized in 30% of the total or above.

In addition to improving packaging processes, ITRI is also presenting a wafer-based plasma sensing system that improves yield. In it, 19 micro sensors monitor the process in real-time, increasing measurement efficiency by 10 times. There’s also a low vapor pressure precursor vaporization and delivery system, which improves wafer coating evenness, increasing yield by 2 to 3% and saving maintenance fees of depositing machines, which would’ve cost millions otherwise.

Huang Meng-chi
ITRI Mechanical and Mechatronics Systems Lab
We know that traditionally, many of the materials and equipment used in chip manufacturing are imported from abroad. We’ve connected domestic giants in equipment and materials, so that our supply chain can be entirely localized. That significantly reduced some of the costs in end manufacturing processes.

With support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, ITRI is joining hands with the industry to promote advancements in display-level semiconductor manufacturing, and consolidate Taiwan’s position in global AI supply chains.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#itri #technology #chips #ai #tech

2026-04-09

Yilan beach becomes battleground between religion and environment

A beach in Yilan has become the latest battleground between religion and environmental protection. Every year, a local temple in Toucheng fills up the coastline with thick smoke from burning piles upon piles of joss paper, right on the sand. They have been doing so every year for decades and don’t see anything wrong with it. But local business owners say it is very unpleasant, as it fills the area with smoke. Even though the temple has previously been fined for violating environmental protection laws, they say they won’t be stopping any time soon. That is, unless the gods agree to change location.

Thick smoke has engulfed the beach as a group of people burn reams upon reams of joss paper.

Business owner
Runs shop nearby
Customers have complained about the smoke, it drifts all the way here. Customers get smoked up, and even passers-by get ash on their faces. It deals a blow to business, because the entire shop smells like smoke.

Ms. Huang
Temple staff
Every year, we do the bonfires at the same spot. If the gods agree to the burning, we send notices to the fire department and the environmental authorities to tell them about the place and time of the burning.

But the bonfires are a pain for nearby business. Toucheng Xietian Temple, which has more than 200 years of history says that the tradition has been passed down for decades and has unclear origins. The beachside bonfires have been reported in the past, and the temple had to pay a fine of NT$1,200 last year for violating air pollution laws. Despite that, the temple says it will continue holding burning offerings at the beach in coming years anyway, unless the gods of the temple agree to change locations.

Ms. Huang
Temple staff
We follow the will of our deities. We go wherever they say. We’ll ask whether we should do it at the beach again. If the answer is yes, we’ll go ahead.

Hu Pi-hui
Yilan Environmental Protection Bureau
Their actions are in violation of Article 32 of the Air Pollution Control Act. We will issue a citation and fines of between NT$1,200 and NT$100,000.

Despite the risk of fines, the temple insists on continuing the seaside burning ritual. They say that even if they are fined every year, they still have to follow the will of the deities.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#yilan #toucheng #beach #pollution #tradition #josspaper

2026-04-09

Lion caretakers upset at animal abuse allegations

2026-04-09