The Megaport Festival “has made many mothers weep,” Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) wife, Lee Chia-fen (李佳芬), said yesterday. It was not clear what she was insinuating.
Lee made the remarks while campaigning for Han, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, and KMT Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) in New Taipei City, adding that as a mother she knows what many parents are worried about.
The festival’s organizers last month announced that there would not be a 12th Megaport Festival next year after facing pressure from the Kaohsiung City Government.
Photo: Ho Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The festival, cofounded by metal band Chthonic frontman Freddy Lim (林昶佐), now an independent legislator, is frequently headlined by rock band Fire EX, which promotes Taiwanese independence.
As a mother, she would like to see a society that is built on harmony and reciprocity, Lee said.
For that reason, Han has been working hard to improve the nation’s economy and education, while caring for the disadvantaged, she said.
Han would aim to improve the nation’s education system and take care of the disadvantaged if elected president, she added.
While Han was running for mayor last year, she encountered many mothers who cried in her arms due to worries about their children’s school curriculum, Lee said.
She learned from her trips across Asia that Taiwanese children are gifted and would have a great future if they were given the proper opportunities and training, she said.
It would be the “sin of our generation” if we fail to provide a good environment for our children, Lee added.
In related news, KMT Chairman Wu Den-Yih (吳敦義) yesterday said he has not received word on KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) being tapped to be Han’s running mate when asked to comment on the rumor on the sidelines of a rally in Miaoli County.
Chiang had on Saturday dismissed the rumor as untrue.
Previously, former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), former premier Simon Chang (張善政) and former Taipei County commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) had all been rumored to be Han’s vice presidential candidate.
Wu told reporters in Miaoli that Han has asked him who would make a good vice president.
He suggested that Han find someone who can complement him and work well with him, Wu said.
He also told Han that he must pick his own vice president and wished him good luck, he said.
While it was rumored that Han was originally scheduled to attend the Miaoli rally with local KMT legislative candidates Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) and Hsu Chih-jung (徐志榮), Hsu said that Han had informed party members that he would not be attending the rally.
Han would definitely visit Miaoli, Hsu added.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
RSS