President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday instructed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to spare no effort in campaigning for the party’s candidates in November’s special municipality elections.
Ma, in his capacity as KMT chairman, demanded that the party’s Huang Fuxing branch fully cooperate with the party’s campaigning schedule for the elections when he presided over its leadership hand-over ceremony.
The Huang Fuxing branch was established in 1956 by former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) to attract the support of veterans. The branch is composed of retired military members, their families and other deep-blue members, and has played a crucial role in election campaigns with its more than 200,000 members.
Ma yesterday thanked outgoing director Wang Wen-hsieh (王文燮) for taking over after the KMT lost the presidential election to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2000, and said he expected incoming director King En-chin (金恩慶) to maintain the branch as a key component of the KMT.
“As an important part of the KMT, I hope the Huang Fuxing branch will cooperate with the party’s strategies and help the party win in upcoming elections,” he said yesterday at KMT headquarters.
As the five special municipality elections approach, the KMT has determined candidates in four cities — Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) for Taipei City, Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) for Sinbei City, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) for Greater Taichung and KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) for Greater Kaohsiung.
The party remains in negotiations to determine its candidate for Greater Tainan.
KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said yesterday that the party had conducted two polls in the city, adding that two hopefuls — former KMT legislators Kuo Tien-tsai (郭添財) and Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) — had tied in both polls.
Su said the KMT would finalize its Greater Tainan candidate by the end of the month.
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
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Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
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