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.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
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 —
RSS