Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, last night thanked supporters for their efforts as he conceded defeat in the election.
“All I can say is that the hard work I put in was not enough, and I have let you all down,” Han told a rally outside the KMT’s Kaohsiung chapter in the city’s Sanmin District (三民).
He thanked supporters for their love and efforts, saying that it had been an honor to have former premier Simon Chang (張善政) as his running mate.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“The people of the Republic of China have made their choice and I absolutely respect the election result,” Han said.
Earlier in the evening, he congratulated President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on her re-election, he said.
Hopefully, Tsai will create a better life for the people and the nation will again show its solidarity, he added.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
“Starting on Monday, I will return to work at the Kaohsiung City Government,” Han said, adding that there is much to be done before the Lunar New Year holiday.
Following Han’s speech, KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) announced at KMT headquarters in Taipei that he and vice chairmen Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) and Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), as well as all executive-level members involved in the election, would tender their resignations to the KMT Central Standing Committee to take responsibility for the party’s defeat in the presidential and legislative elections.
The committee is to make a decision about their resignations at its meeting on Wednesday, Wu said.
Photo: CNA
“The KMT did not do well in the elections and must calmly review its performance,” Wu said.
Outside the KMT’s Kaohsiung chapter, the party had set up a large screen on Jianguo Road for about 1,000 supporters who had gathered to watch the vote count.
The supporters initially appeared hopeful, with many chanting dong suan (凍蒜), a Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) expression meaning “get elected,” despite Han failing to hold a small early lead over Tsai.
However, as the gap between Han and Tsai widened, many fell silent and became visibly anxious.
By 6:30pm, about two-and-a-half hours after the ballot counting began, Han trailed Tsai by more than 1.2 million votes and several supporters broke into tears.
The loss marks the fourth time the KMT is to be an opposition party since the DPP won its first presidential election in 2000.
Before the DPP’s Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) won the 2000 presidential election, the KMT had ruled the nation for nearly six decades.
The loss was another blow to the KMT, which was desperate to return to power following a disastrous electoral defeat in 2016, when Tsai won the presidential election by the second-largest margin in the nation’s history and the DPP secured an absolute majority in the Legislative Yuan.
Additional reporting by Fang Chih-hsien
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
RSS