Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday called for the unification of all pan-blue forces in the run-up to next year’s presidential and legislative elections after People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) announced he would enter January’s race, a move expected to split the pan-blue vote.
“From past experience, we have never won an election when the pan-blue camp has been divided, Chu said on the sidelines of an industrial event in New Taipei City, where he is mayor. “We must unite all pan-blue forces, as well as our public support.”
“We must not give up on peace until the end,” he said. “We must not cease cooperation until the moment of despair. The KMT will do its utmost.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Chu said that the KMT was not afraid of a fight, but added that the party would not pass up any opportunity to cooperate, despite the fact that it has nominated candidates for a number of legislative seats.
However, KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said it is hard for her to say she respects Soong’s decision.
“Soong was my superior and has plenty of experience in campaigns,” Hung said.
“So it is difficult for me to express respect [for Soong’s decision], but I do not have to say that I feel sorry either,” Hung said.
“In Taiwanese society, politicians who care only about [party affiliations], but not right and wrong, are not appreciated. People do not like politicians who wander around for [political] benefit,” she said.
A statement released by Hung’s office said Soong had “deviated from [former president] Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) spirit and walked away from the pan-blue ideals with his remarks and actions in the past several years.”
KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who is vying for a legislative seat in Keelung, expressed respect for Soong’s decision to run for the presidency again.
“The KMT had always treated the PFP as its close ally, a party we aimed to team up with to create a win-win situation,” Hau said.
Given that the PFP is widely considered a spin-off from the KMT and the two parties pretty much share the same voters, Hau said Soong’s candidacy would inevitably have an impact on Hung’s campaign.
However, it has become self-evident in recent years that the PFP mostly cooperates with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and has deviated from KMT and Republic of China founding father Sun Yat-sen’s (孫中山) principles, Hau said.
“The KMT might be able to turn Soong’s presidential candidacy in its favor, if it can convey this to pan-blue supporters,” he added.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS