Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) said yesterday that Minister of Health Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) would be a good choice to represent the party in the election for Hualien County commissioner later this year.
Wu lauded Yeh as a fine government official, but said that more negotiations were necessary before a nomination could be confirmed.
“Yeh would be a good choice, but we will need more time to talk about this in more detail,” Wu said before presiding over the KMT’s Central Standing Committee.
Wu declined to confirm whether the party would ignore the primary process and nominate Yeh directly and said the KMT would negotiate with other hopefuls to achieve consensus on a nomination.
KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) said Yeh would be the “most welcome” candidate for the election if he agreed to represent the KMT.
Five KMT members, including KMT Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁), Hualien County Council Speaker Yang Wen-chi (楊文值), Hualien City Mayor Tsai Chi-ta (蔡啟塔) and former director of Hualien County’s Agricultural Development Office Tu Li-hua (杜麗華), have registered with the party to participate in the primary.
The party, however, suspended the primary last month because of intense competition among the five.
Wu Den-yi said the party could skip the primary and make a nomination instead.
KMT legislators, meanwhile, had mixed reactions to the possibility of Yeh running in the Hualien election.
KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) said that while Yeh would be a perfect candidate for Hualien, his talent could be put to better use elsewhere.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said that Yeh would increase Hualien’s tourism and visibility if he became commissioner.
However, KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) expressed concerns about Yeh’s chances of winning the election for the KMT.
“Although Hualien County is a very ‘blue’ [pro-KMT] county, a candidate who has not spent enough time garnering support from residents could still lose the election,” Lin said.
The lawmakers made the remarks after Yeh confirmed on Tuesday night that officials at KMT headquarters had approached him about the election later this year.
Yeh told reporters yesterday that Wu Den-yih was the one who had proposed that Yeh run in the election.
Yeh, who had mentioned on several occasions his wish to return to Hualien, where he taught at the Tzu Chi University, said he would only accept the nomination if Hualien County residents supported him and if harmony within the party were not affected by his nomination.
He said he would not compete in a party primary if one were held, adding he would not make a final decision until next month at the earliest.
Yeh’s announcement was immediately criticized by Fu, who has long been preparing for the election.
Fu said the health minister should remain in the central government.
“Minister Yeh is an expert on public health. However, there is a substantial difference between being a decision-making administrator in the central government and [a county commissioner], who needs to understand the county and its residents,” Fu told reporters.
Fu said he wondered if residents of Hualien would support Yeh.
Meanwhile, the KMT said it would launch a new Web site by the end of next month targeting foreigners in Taiwan.
The party said the new Web site would feature “foreigners’ views on Taiwan,” inviting foreigners living in Taiwan to share their views about government policies, social issues and other topics.
The Web site will also invite overseas Taiwanese to share their experiences.
A discussion board on KMT policies will also be launched.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS