The celebration of the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — held in Greater Taichung yesterday — sent a clear message that the party is emphasizing election results from central Taiwan.
The joint entrance of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman; Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), who is seeking re-election; Nantou County commissioner candidate Legislator Lin Ming-chen (林明溱); and Changhua County commissioner candidate Legislator Lin Tsang-min (林滄敏) demonstrated the region’s importance to the party.
All featured in the closing scene, turning on a “great wheel symbolizing the turning of the tide for central Taiwan,” which also attempted to emphasize that only by voting for KMT candidates would residents of the region see a better future.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“We hope the party will win in the upcoming elections, continuing its reforms and paving the path to winning the 2016 presidential elections,” Ma said as a “birthday wish” for the party.
Governmental policies have caused an increase of international tourists to central Taiwan, reaching 8 million compared with the 3.7 million when the KMT came to power more than seven years ago, Ma said.
Ma added that Nantou County received more subsidies under the KMT government than under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), saying that most of the funding was due to Lin Ming-chen’s successful negotiations.
Photo: CNA
The party believes that the tourism industry in Nantou County will certainly prosper under Lin Ming-chen, Ma said.
Earlier yesterday, Ma also visited Chiayi City in an effort to campaign for Chiayi mayoral candidate Chen Yi-chen (陳以真) and KMT city council candidates, but the event was an awkward leg of the journey: Chen was a no-show, while just three city council candidates made an appearance.
While some KMT supporters said Chen’s absence was a show of disrespect and could be taken as proof that Chen was seeking to distance herself from the president, Chiayi Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), a KMT member, said Chen’s vacancy was simply due to a clash between schedules.
Later yesterday, Ma arrived in Greater Tainan to campaign for mayoral candidate Huang Hsiu-shuang (黃秀霜), who is president National Tainan University, before visiting Greater Kaohsiung to campaign for the KMT’s Greater Kaohsiung mayoral candidate, Minister Without Portfolio Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興).
Additional reporting by Chen Hsin-jen and Wang Shan-yen
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS