President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday formally registered for his re-election bid, pledging that if he wins next year, he would spare no effort to fulfill his pledge of creating a “golden decade” for Taiwan, making it safer and more prosperous.
Ma made the remarks after registering his candidacy, along with his running mate, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), for the presidential election. They were the first team to register at the Central Election Commission for the Jan. 14 poll.
“I have completed the registration procedure and deposited the guarantee of NT$15 million [US$496,680]. Starting today, I will gradually carry out my campaign programs,” Ma said. “And if I’m re-elected, I’ll do whatever I can to make our country more secure, our society more stable and our people more at ease.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Both Ma and Wu wore specially designed T-shirts printed with an amulet design that carries four Chinese characters wishing Taiwan peace and good luck.
They were accompanied by Legislative Deputy Speaker Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), serving in his capacity as secretary-general of Ma’s campaign, and a group of young volunteers.
Earlier this month, Wu said he would temporarily step down from his post on Dec. 14, one month before the election, which will be held simultaneously with the legislative polls.
Candidacy registration for next year’s presidential and legislative elections opened yesterday, and will close on Friday.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her running mate, Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), are expected to register tomorrow, while People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and his running mate, Lin Ruey-shiung (林瑞雄), are expected to register either tomorrow or Friday.
Officials from the National Security Bureau on Sunday said it would take over the responsibility for security after the presidential and vice-presidential candidates officially register their candidacies this week.
Teams will provide security for candidates from registration day to midnight on Jan. 15, one day after election day, it added.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
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