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
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS