Chances are increasing that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) will announce a bid for president, according to sources close to Wang.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) representative in Kaohsiung Lee Po-jung (李柏融) said that Wang has started to motivate his staff and will be convening party members this week to initiate the signature drive required to run for the KMT presidential nomination.
Wang has remained equivocal about his intentions.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
“I’m not saying that I will run, but I’m not saying I will not, either,” Wang said yesterday.
Wang was at China Medical University in Taichung yesterday to receive an honorary doctorate.
During the ceremony, Academia Sinica’s Lo Hao (羅浩), another honorary doctorate recipient, said that while he has become Wang’s “schoolmate,” Wang would probably be a president next year; a quip that brought a round of laughter from audience members.
Wang said he has been busy in the legislature recently, reiterating that he remained undecided.
When asked about New Taipei City Mayor and KMT Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) declaration on Friday that he would not make a bid for next year’s election, Wang said he respects Chu’s decision.
When asked whether it would possible for him to work with People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), Wang said he and Soong have worked together on many issues.
Former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bing (郝龍斌), who on Thursday said Chu was “in deep contemplation” over the possibility of running for president, was at the KMT’s office in Kaohsiung on Friday.
Political observers said that it seems Hau is watching Wang closely for any developments over a possible announcement of a presidential bid.
Kaohsiung City Farmers’ Association secretary-general Hsiao Han-chun (蕭漢俊) said that Wang’s possible goal of vying for the nation’s top job meets the expectations of many members of farmers’ and fishermen’s associations.
Once it is confirmed that Wang is to run, not only would Kaohsiung’s fishermen’s association respond to his campaign needs, the farmers’ associations across the nation, which have received aid from Wang, would join the effort and collect signatures for him, Hsiao said.
Since last month, Wang has been invited to attend events almost every weekend. The southern counties and cities have been particularly enthusiastic, party sources said.
The events include meetings with KMT members and gatherings with city and county associations, women’s associations, charity groups and major temple festivals.
Many of Kaohsiung’s KMT councilors and legislators believe that the time is ripe for Wang to announce his intention to run for president, party sources said, adding that an official declaration could be made this week.
Meanwhile, KMT Kaohsiung City chapter director Hsu Fu-ming (許福明) said the office would follow the nomination procedure promulgated by the party, accepting applications from those who want to sign up.
As for Wang’s intentions, “I am not in a position to comment,” Hsu said.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS