New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said he will focus on the city’s development and declined to discuss the possibility that he might run in the 2016 presidential election.
“There’s still a lot of time until 2016. My priority is to focus on the city’s development and work with the Taipei City Government on the twin city cooperation projects [with Taipei] in order to bring more happiness for our citizens,” he said yesterday while attending an agricultural product promotion activity in Taipei.
Chu’s comments came in response to remarks made by his father-in-law, former speaker of the defunct Taiwan Provincial Assembly Kao Yu-jen (高育仁), that Chu should seek to represent the KMT in the 2016 presidential election “if the nation needs him.”
In an interview with News 98 radio on Friday, Kao criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for what he said was a lack of understanding of the legislature, and said he should take a more proactive approach to leading the nation.
When asked about Chu’s chances in the 2016 presidential election, Kao said he did not have information on his bid, but would not oppose it if he decided to run the election.
“If the nation needs him, he should not hesitate to seek the candidacy,” he said.
Chu yesterday said he was aware of his father-in-law’s comments, and would remind him to “pay more attention when commenting [on the issue].”
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who also attended the event, said the KMT will be united in seeking victory in the presidential election, but declined to confirm whether he would join the election.
“Mayor Chu and I are both focusing on the city development, and we meet regularly to discuss cooperation between the two special municipalities.
The KMT will be united in the 2016 election because only with unity can we win the election,” said Hau, also a KMT member.
Both Chu and Hau are perceived as likely KMT candidates for the presidential election.
As Ma indicated that he would not hand-pick a preferred successor, the two mayors will be competing for the presidential candidacy with another two rivals — Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺).
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant