Coming on the heels of their televised political forum Saturday, both candidates for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Yesterday Ma took his campaign to Kaohsiung where he told supporters that he appreciates Wang for his experience in the legislature. But he told partisans there to "affirm Wang Jin-pyng but vote for Ma Ying-jeou."
The Taipei mayor also said that the KMT should not be divided after the chairmanship election, regardless of who wins the election.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YIH, TAIPEI TIMES
Addressing long-standing doubts about his relationship with Wang, given their rivalry in the chairmanship election, Ma said that he and Wang have both promised to work together.
Should he lose, said Ma, he will accept any party duties Wang delegates to him. Similarly, should be win, he and Wang will, together to administer the KMT, Ma said.
Echoing comments he made during his televised speech on Saturday, Ma said that "reform is not a just slogan."
"We must let everyone believe that the KMT [is worthy of] hope. Only this way can we appeal to moderate voters and young voters," Ma said.
The Taipei mayor also took the opportunity to criticize the administration of President Chen Shui-bian (
"The Executive Yuan wishes to revise the Referendum Law (
"While referendums are not some sort of monster, it should be the people themselves who take the initiative push for political participation, not the government," Ma said.
The Cabinet proposed an amendment to the Referendum Law last week to lower the necessary number of people to initiate a referendum. Since the proposal was made, it has faced heavy criticism by the pan-blue camp in the legislature.
Currently, to initiate a referendum, at least 0.5 percent of all qualified voters -- approximately 80,000 people -- must endorse a referendum initiative.
Chen has already publicly said that it is impossible to make a new constitution or to change the nation's name, meaning he should put all efforts into the economy instead of his pushing for amendments, Ma said.
Meanwhile, Wang yesterday mingled with supporters in Changhua County, and sought the support of young party members there.
"Everyone says that Ma is very handsome, but there are also people that say that there are different kinds of good-looking," Wang said yesterday.
"Ma Ying-jeou is one kind of handsome, and Wang Jin-pyng is another kind of handsome." he said jokingly.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
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