Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) is poised to represent the KMT and compete against Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) in November’s mayoral election after he yesterday defeated two other candidates in the party’s primary.
According to the average results of three opinion polls released by the KMT’s Taoyuan chapter yesterday, Chen garnered a support rating of 35.68 percent, followed by Taoyuan City Councilor Lu Ming-che (魯明哲) with 33.06 percent and former KMT legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) with 31.24 percent.
Chen, who is serving a fourth term as legislator, is expected to be officially nominated by the KMT at a meeting of the party’s Central Standing Committee next week at the earliest, the party said.
Photo: Chen Yun, Taipei Times
If his nomination receives the committee’s support, Chen would be the second special municipality mayoral candidate nominated by the party after KMT Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), who secured her nomination as the party’s Taichung candidate on Wednesday last week.
In a speech delivered after the results were announced, Chen said he would do his utmost to help the KMT regain its lost support, and unite the party with the help of Yang and Lu.
“Unlike Cheng, I would not squander money if elected, and would allocate budgets precisely and accurately for my policies,” Chen said, adding that he would spend his time communicating with Taoyuan residents rather than attending ceremonies like Cheng.
Taoyuan, which was upgraded to a special municipality in December 2014, had been governed by the KMT since 2001 until Cheng defeated then-Taoyuan county commissioner John Wu (吳志揚) in the 2014 local elections.
However, Yang refused to accept results of the polls, saying they did not conform with the preliminary results her aides had gathered during the polling process.
“[The preliminary results] indicated that I was leading in two polls, but was trailing closely behind the other two aspirants in the other. How could I ended up finishing last in all three polls,” Yang said. “I do not believe the poll results.”
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said the primary was conducted in a fair, just and open manner, adding that none of the candidates raised any concerns during the primary.
“Regarding the accusation made by one of the aspirants, it will be dealt with by the Taoyuan chapter, but it will not change the results of the primary,” Hung said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS