New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday reiterated his pledge to serve out his term, denying speculation that he was considering standing in next year’s presidential election.
“My current step and the next will be to serve as an excellent mayor,” Chu said, when asked about his plans for the Lunar New Year on the sidelines of a visit to New Taipei City Hospital’s Sanchong (三重) and Banciao (板橋) branches to express solidarity with on-duty medical personnel.
He laughed when pressed on whether there was any chance he would run for president.
“You want me to say it again? Happy new year everyone, I will bring my work in the city government to a full and excellent conclusion,” he said.
During his campaign for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship last year following the party’s crushing defeat in November’s nine-in-one elections, Chu pledged not to make a run for the presidency.
However, there has still been speculation that he might be drafted for a presidential run, with KMT legislators stating that he might need to “take one for the team” if no other candidates emerge, rather than handing the presidency on a silver platter to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Chu said that other than expressing solidarity with on-duty personnel in New Taipei City, his only other plans for the Lunar New Year holiday would be to visit city temples and attend family gatherings in Taoyuan.
Meanwhile, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is scheduled to visit 28 temples in 13 counties and municipalities over the next five days, in a move widely viewed as the opening shot of the presidential campaign she announced last week.
Asked why he had not arranged trips around the nation like Tsai, Chu said it was because he is the mayor of New Taipei City.
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
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