Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢), who on Monday announced a bid for the party chairperson election in May, said he would be running for president in 2020 as party chairman if elected.
In a radio interview yesterday, Chan said he believes it would be best for the KMT to have the next party chairperson run for president.
“Leading the party and the election campaign at the same time would be the most effective campaign tactic and the same goes for the local elections next year,” he said, adding that the party’s image and the chairperson’s behavior would influence its prospects in next year’s local elections.
Asked about calls within the KMT for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) to run for president on the KMT ticket in 2020, Chan denied that it was a call from within the party, but said the call arose from “talk in society.”
He has not discussed the issue with Gou, Chan said, but added that Gou had once jokingly told Chan that he had no idea why he is being linked to a presidential bid.
Chan said he knows he will have to fulfill certain requirements and meet qualifications to secure the party’s presidential nomination, but he wants to “make his stance clear” on his intention to run for president.
Being a vice presidential candidate “is not an option for me,” he said, amid rumors he might partner with Gou.
Chan said he would play a supporting role if Gou won the nomination, but not as a vice presidential candidate.
Chan said it was not worth worrying about the possibility of chairperson votes being divided between himself and former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) — with the pair considered part of the “local” faction up against KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) mainlander faction.
Chan challenged the notion of factions even existing, saying that people seem to have a different definition for what they are made up of.
He said there is no division along “local” and “mainlander” lines, nor along “independence” and “unification” idealogies.
Some might be categorized as “local,” but have had conflict with the Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) branch — made up of military veterans and their relatives — because of personal reasons, he said, adding that while the KMT used to be an inclusive and diverse party in which all endeavored to construct Taiwan under the same ideals, now factions harbor animosity toward each other.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS