Business tycoon and KMT legislator Gary Wang (
It had previously been widely reported that, following his disqualification to run for the KMT because of pending fraud charges, Wang was to be a key member of a new political group that plans to play a high-profile role in the year-end legislative elections.
In a written statement, the three-term legislator admitted that a lot of his friends, including those from the political arena, have tried to persuade him to seek re-election.
"However, these contacts were limited to private chats and exchanges of opinion. I have not asked for any position or made any commitment, and I have not made any decision to run in the elections," Wang said.
Wang said recent speculation concerning his political career planning have been troubling him, which prompted him to make the public announcement yesterday.
"I won't run in any geographic legislative constituency at year end, and I decline, with thanks, arrangements offered from any sides to nominate me as a legislator at large," Wang said.
"I will invest more time and effort in -- and concentrate myself on -- running the media business, and do the best I can to do my part in the bid to revive Taiwan's commercial and industrial sectors," he added.
Wang is chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce of the ROC (中華民國全國商業總會) and vice chairman of the Rebar Group (力霸東森企業集團), a major investor in the real estate, cable TV and fixed-line telecommunication industries.
Wang, currently a legislator at-large representing the KMT, has been disqualified by the party from nomination as an at-large legislator for the next term, because of his alleged involvement in a series of land fraud deals concerning the state-run Taiwan Development and Trust Corp (TDTC,
Wang was indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office in January over the case.
Over the past few months, there have been reports claiming Wang was organizing a new political group together with some sitting independent lawmakers. It was also rumored that Wang was going to be nominated for an at-large seat representing the group because of his financial backing of the group.
The at-large seats are allocated to political parties or groups that are able to garner at least 5 percent of the vote in the legislative elections. Their vote shares decide how many at-large seats they qualify for.
The political group in question is expected to be founded in July and may be named the "Taiwan Justice Alliance," with members including Tsai Hau (蔡豪), Lo Fu-chu (羅福助), Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁) and Wu Tze-yuan (伍澤元). Chen yesterday said Wang's decision to quit will not affect their plan to form the group.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS