Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said he remains open to cooperation between the KMT and the People First Party (PFP) in next year’s presidential election, adding that he would “not give up until the end.”
Both parties are striving for the good of Taiwan and “the vendettas of the last generation” should be resolved through “sincere communication,” Chu said, adding that he has done a great deal of work “under the table,” which “must remain unknown” to the public.
Chu made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding comments made on Monday by PFP presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜), who said he has been “pining for the word” on a pan-blue alliance, but that the issue “depends on the KMT.”
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
According to the latest survey of presidential candidates released by the Taiwan Thinktank on Monday, Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) maintains her lead (47 percent) over both Soong and KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), with Hung at 16 percent and Soong at 13 percent.
Soong yesterday observed World Car-Free Day by riding public transportation, using the occasion to reiterate his stance on nuclear energy.
“A nuclear-free home is our common goal,” he said, promising, if elected, to conduct a new round of safety inspections at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
Meanwhile, Hung yesterday unveiled her public housing policy.
If elected, she said she would dedicate an annual budget of between NT$20 billion and NT$25 billion (US$606.6 million and US$758.2 million) to set up a “National Housing Service,” which would provide housing subsidies to families with at least one income-earner regardless of the number of dependents.
Applicant priority would be determined through a system of eligibility “points” rather than lottery, with applicants’ personal accounts in the national labor pension fund providing the down payment for mortgages, Hung said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to