Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday announced before a rally in Hualien that he has officially registered to run in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) primary and pledged to allot infrastructure funding indiscriminately among urban and rural areas.
Han, appearing at about 5pm with his wife, Lee Chia-fen (李佳芬), was greeted by calls of “A commoner president to unify Taiwan” and “Vote Han into presidency.”
The event organizer estimated that about 150,000 people attended the rally.
Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei Times
Han said that 2020 would be a “life-and-death battle for the Republic of China” and that he aimed to move Taiwan away from poverty and unhappiness.
Blaming the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for inter-party fighting and public unhappiness, Han said: “Politics should not be devoid of humanity and should be capable of bringing warmth, passion and laughter to the people.”
Hualien County, once renowned as a tourist hotspot, has over the past two or three years lost 18 major flight paths, including one that flew to Hong Kong, Han said.
With beautiful scenery and capable residents, the county does not lack the necessary foundation, but is prevented from rebuilding due to public transportation issues, he said.
“Like a wuxia [武俠, martial-arts literature] master well versed in neikung [but suffering from a blocked acupuncture point], Hualien Commissioner Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) is unable to channel her qi into a lethal attack,” Han said.
Han said that, if elected, he would not overlook the people of Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, but would expedite construction of the Suhua Expressway, facilitate Hualien-Taichung transportation and develop better healthcare and education infrastructure in the area.
Hsu voiced support for Han’s presidential bid and called on the public to vote for a president that would keep the nation safe and make Taiwanese wealthy.
Separately yesterday, former New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), a KMT presidential hopeful, said that he wishes the best for Han’s rally, adding that if every KMT candidate does well, the KMT as a whole would do well.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海集團) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), also a KMT presidential hopeful, criticized Han, saying that he was not familiar with the concept of overhead.
Policies that are friendly to the economy should promote the use of local wares and products to provide local stimulus, he added.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
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
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS