Ending weeks of speculation, Taitung County Commissioner Hsu Ching-yuan (
"I am putting politics aside to make Taitung's development my top priority. For these legislative elections, I have decided to support the DPP's candidate for Taitung County in consideration of what is in the best interests of Taitung and for no other reason. [As a result,] I hope that the projects to expand Taitung's Fugang Harbor (富岡港) and widen the Southern Cross-Island Highway (南迴公路) will take place before the eyes of Taitung residents as soon as possible," said Hsu, who was one of the PFP's founding members, yesterday at a press conference.
The central government's support for the two county construction projects have long been cited by Hsu as his condition for helping the DPP in its legislative efforts in Taitung.
"Both of the budgets needed for these two construction projects are too massive for the local government to bear; we need the support of the central government for these projects, both of which will improve Taitung's development for the next 20 to 30 years," Hsu said.
Since his decision to support the DPP's candidate in Taitung County, Hsu Jui-kuei (許瑞貴), goes against the PFP's promise to the KMT to support its two legislative candidates in the area, Hsu announced that he was voluntarily giving up his party membership in the PFP in order not to create difficulties for PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜). He communicated his decision to Soong on Nov. 16, who expressed regret and acceptance, Hsu said. Hsu also said he has no plans to enter the DPP and will instead become an independent.
In response, the PFP released a statement yesterday expressing its regret at Hsu's decision. While reiterating the PFP's long-term support for the "Republic of China," the statement condemned the ruling party for using its "administrative advantages" to "kidnap" the Taitung County commissioner for the DPP's own "selfish election purposes."
While the issue of whether or not the PFP would be forced to take Hsu to task for stumping for its political rival was solved by Hsu's decision to drop out of the party, the controversy has created wide speculation that Miaoli County Commissioner Fu Hsueh-peng (
Fu and Hsu had been previously identified by the media as political figures the pan-green camp was wooing to endorse its candidates in the year-end legislative elections. Both Taitung and Miaoli counties have traditionally been solid bases of pan-blue support.
Replying to Miaoli county councilors in a meeting yesterday, Fu said that he was willing to stump for any party's candidates, so long as that party supported Miaoli County.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source