Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) announced yesterday that he would not be President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) running mate for January’s presidential election.
Ma said he respects Siew’s decision and he would announce his new running mate before June 25, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is to hold a plenary session.
Siew promised to do his best as Ma’s deputy for the remainder of their term, which expires in May next year. He also said he would help Ma’s re-election campaign.
The presidential election will be held alongside the legislative elections on Jan. 14.
In a statement, Siew, 72, said he decided to serve just one term as vice president so that more duties could be transferred to the next generation. He said he wanted Ma to have a free hand in choosing a younger candidate.
Ma needs a second term to complete his mission to build a peaceful and stable cross-strait relationship, and to keep Taiwan’s economy on a growth path, Siew said.
“I urge my fellow countrymen to give President Ma your warm support,” Siew said.
Ma issued a statement thanking Siew for helping him bring down the unemployment rate, achieve the highest economic growth in 23 years last year, develop the six strategic “emerging industries” and sign a landmark economic pact with China.
Siew has been an “architect” of the government’s financial and economic policies, Ma said, and he himself had benefited a great deal from Siew’s “wise recommendations.” He said he would continue to seek Siew’s advice even after the vice president retires.
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
UNDER ATTACK: Raymond Greene said there were 412 billion malicious threats in the Asia-Pacific region in the first half of 2023, with 55 percent targeting Taiwan Taiwan not only faces military intimidation from China, but is also on the front line of global cybersecurity threats, and it is taking action to counter those attacks, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Speaking at the opening of this year’s Cybersec Expo in Taipei, the president assured foreign diplomats and exhibitors that Taiwan remained committed to strengthening its defense against cyberattacks and enhancing the resilience of its digital infrastructure. Lai referenced a report from the National Security Bureau (NSB) indicating that the Government Service Network faced an average of 2.4 million intrusion attempts daily last year, more than double the figure
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS