A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker yesterday said that efforts to form a presidential ticket with former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"I believe that Wang will announce [that he will not pair up with Ma] when he gets back from Malaysia," KMT Legislator Hsu Shu-po (
Wang left for Malaysia yesterday to deliver a speech at the invitation of the Asian Chinese Entrepreneurs Summit and was scheduled to return to Taiwan today.
Approached by the press about the likelihood of a "Ma-Wang ticket" before his departure, Wang said he would "give everyone an answer" after his return.
After Ma formally offered Wang the vice presidential ticket on May 9, Wang on Saturday publicly discussed his stance for the first time.
Wang said that he would rather speak of "Ma-Wang cooperation" instead of a "Ma-Wang ticket," because it effectively communicated their mutual goal of helping the party win next year's presidential election.
Asked to interpret Wang's remarks, Hsu, who is affiliated with Wang, said that the speaker would turn down Ma's offer.
If Wang accepts Ma's offer, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would demand Wang quit as speaker for the reason that the speaker must remain neutral, Hsu said.
"Considering the possible ramifications it could have on the party's election performance if he resigned, Wang believes that he should stay put," Hsu said.
KMT Legislator Hung Shiu-chu (
"A marriage won't work if a groom is forced to marry a bride he doesn't really like. Wang knows that well and he thinks he can help Ma more if his cooperation with Ma takes another form rather than being his running mate," Hung said.
Wang has advanced the deadline for giving Ma a definite answer from June 24 to Thursday at Ma's request.
Ma said on Friday he hoped Wang would give a definite answer by the end of this month.
Wang said he would meet with Ma by Thursday and let him know his decision.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
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