Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman and presidential hopeful Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday shrugged off disputes over the issue of the KMT's presidential nomination, expressing confidence in his bid for president.
"The grassroots [supporters] know which ticket will win the election, and they only care about who can win ... I don't want to say it. You should go and ask them," Ma told reporters yesterday during a visit to Chiayi County.
In response to Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng's (王金平) refusal to play second fiddle and run as the vice-presidential candidate on the party's ticket, Ma said he realized that grassroots supporters did not take the pair-up issue too seriously, adding that he would focus his attention on seeking solutions to Taiwan's economic difficulties.
The comments by Ma and Wang yesterday further complicated the party's efforts to end the fierce rivalry between the two and persuade them to run on a joint ticket in the presidential election more difficult.
Former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and KMT Acting Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) have negotiated with Ma and Wang several times, but have so far failed to reach a conclusion that is satisfactory to the duo.
Although Wu had demanded that Ma and Wang select each other as running mate if nominated, Wang and Ma have not publicly agreed to the idea.
Lashing out at the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for ignoring the issue of people's livelihoods over the past seven years, Ma pledged to improve the economy and vowed to increase subsidies for seniors and the elderly farmers allowance if elected.
Meanwhile, upset by recent speculation that Lien was unhappy with his failure to persuade Wang to take over the party chairmanship, despite Lien's denial of such rumors, Wu decided to invite both Lien and Wang to explain the matter to the media.
Wu made the move in response to reports in Chinese-language newspapers the United Daily News and China Times that said Lien had asked Wu to invite Wang to take over the chairmanship during a private meeting last Tuesday, and was upset that Wu entered the by-election instead.
Lien on Friday admitted that he preferred Wang as the KMT's new chairman, but denied ever asking Wu to help him persuade Wang.
The KMT's acting chairman office director Huang Yu-cheng (黃玉振) said yesterday that Wu had decided to explain the matter in public with Lien and Wang in order to prevent any further speculation about the matter.
"Wu has explained the matter several times, but some people tried to distort the facts by spreading rumors to the media, and so he wanted to explain what really happened," Huang said.
Wu said on Friday that he had urged Lien to take over as chairman during their private meeting, and told him he would enter the by-election if Lien didn't want to do so.
Meanwhile, Wang yesterday said that he favored a Wang-Ma rather than a Ma-Wang presidential ticket, saying that the former one was a winning combination.
"If [I were to be paired up with Ma], of course it should be a Wang-Ma ticket," Wang told reporters when asked for comment on Ma's earlier remarks.
"Everyone wants the best for himself and will strive for it. I don't remember whether I have spoken about this, but what I am thinking about in my heart is a Wang-Ma ticket," Wang said.
Wang said that a Ma-Wang ticket would not be a threat to the DPP because the DPP has prepared itself for beating Ma in next year's presidential election.
"Only a presidential ticket led by a pro-localization candidate can help the KMT win the election," Wang said, without elaborating.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
The Taipei Zoo on Saturday said it would pursue legal action against a man who was filmed climbing over a railing to tease and feed spotted hyenas in their enclosure earlier that day. In videos uploaded to social media on Saturday, a man can be seen climbing over a protective railing and approaching a ledge above the zoo’s spotted hyena enclosure, before dropping unidentified objects down to two of the animals. The Taipei Zoo in a statement said the man’s actions were “extremely inappropriate and even illegal.” In addition to monitoring the hyenas’ health, the zoo would collect evidence provided by the public
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
RSS