It is “not necessarily a bad thing” that newly elected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) has not yet received a congratulatory telegram from Beijing, a KMT legislator who asked to remain anonymous said yesterday.
Chiang was elected chairman on Saturday in a by-election in which he received 84,860 votes to beat his sole opponent, former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who received 38,483 votes.
In the past, the Chinese president — in his capacity as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — would send a congratulatory telegram whenever a KMT chairperson was elected, the KMT legislator said.
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
However, not receiving a telegram from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was “not necessarily a bad thing” for Chiang, as it meant the outcome of the chairperson election would more likely have the support of Taiwanese, the legislator said.
The party should focus on reform and should be more “localized,” the legislator said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Saturday acknowledged the election of Chiang in a news release issued by Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮), deputy director of the office’s news department.
The office hoped that Chiang would “cherish and protect the mutual trust between the CPP and the KMT on the foundation of the 1992 consensus,” the statement said.
It called on Chiang to “actively promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and advance the interests and well-being of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.”
During a policy debate prior to the election, Chiang had said he felt that the “1992 consensus” was “a little bit outdated.”
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Chiang yesterday said that not receiving a telegram from Xi would not affect his promotion of reforms.
“Perhaps my election will not only give Taiwanese a new concept of things, but will also do the same for those in the mainland,” he said.
Separately, KMT caucus convener Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) yesterday said that he expects better cooperation between KMT headquarters and the party’s caucus following Chiang’s election.
The party would ensure there is a certain ratio of city and county officials in the KMT Central Standing Committee so that it is in touch with popular will, he said, adding that he also expects better communication between the KMT and other parties.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party yesterday released a statement congratulating Chiang.
“We expect the new KMT chairman, Chiang, to open up a new era... People look forward to good interaction and cooperation between the ruling party and opposition parties, and for them to work together to advance Taiwan’s democracy and achieve major reforms that benefit the nation,” it said.
New Power Party Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), who was a former colleague of Chiang’s at Soochow University, also passed on his congratulations.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua and Jason Pan
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS