Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday expressed “gratitude and apologies to those who have high expectations” of him, saying that he is not able to shoulder a “weighty mission,” which has been interpreted as him announcing he will not contest the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential primary.
Wang called for party unity, saying “an individual’s honor or humiliation is a trivial matter.”
“The solidarity of the KMT is not a question for one person or a party calculation, but for all Taiwanese and the continuation of the Republic of China,” Wang said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
“Taiwan is now deeply embroiled in tumult and distress, and only when the ruling party shows unity can society’s rift be stopped,” he said. “[I] will act as a seed of solidarity for our future generations.”
“The election is a one-time thing. We cannot damage our soft power for the sake of winning it,” he said.
KMT Legislator Lu Chia-chen (盧嘉辰), who has long been regarded as pro-Wang, backed the speaker on his call for solidarity.
“The speaker did not pick up the application [for the party’s primary] in order to secure party solidarity, the stability of the nation and the stable development of cross-strait relations,” Lu said. “We respect his decision.”
When asked whether the emphasis on solidarity indicated that there has been disharmony within the party or that Wang had faced pressure from party members, Lu said: “[We] have a clear sense of it [while it was not made explicit]. For [the party’s] solidarity, what needs to be done is to gnash the teeth and swallow any broken ones.”
“For the sake of solidarity, the humiliation and burden that needed to be borne has to be borne,” Lu added, implying that Wang’s aspirations have been suppressed. “This is my personal view though. We should give credit to the speaker for discerning right from wrong.”
Speculation has been rife that Wang did not join the primary because of obstruction from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who has signed up for the primary, said that rumors had been deliberately spread by unidentified sources, “making some who had intended to join the primary back out.”
“Wang’s statement could be seen as conveying what he has felt recently,” Hung said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that “solidarity” — which was mentioned five times in Wang’s three-minute statement — was directed at Ma because “both the rhetoric of solidarity and how it is ‘not for one person’s benefit’ was a slap in Ma’s face.”
Chen said that in Wang’s statement, there was no wording that said he was “not running for president.”
Meanwhile, as the primary is set to take place without any senior KMT members participating, with KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) having declared they do not intend to run, the possibility of the KMT using its “draft” mechanism has become more likely.
“It would not look good if we have to resort to a draft, but if that is what has to be done, then a draft it is,” KMT caucus whip Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said.
Hung said that the KMT, “especially Chu, would not be able to bear the pressure if a draft was used, as it would set tongues wagging and draw condemnation from the public, affecting next year’s presidential and legislative election campaigns, and causing the party to crumble.”
National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday said it disqualified a person from an entrance examination for using AI smart glasses to cheat, along with two others for making untruthful statements in their curriculum vitae. The three applicants were given null scores, Taiwan’s highest-ranked university said, calling on prospective students to be honest in the admissions process. NTU registrar Lee Hung-sen (李宏森) said that the cheating applicant wore a hat and thick-rimmed glasses to the second written exam for medical school, claiming that they felt cold. Suspicions were aroused when the applicant stared oddly at the test for long stretches while steadily bringing the paper
MILITARY ISSUES: A partisan divide between the Cabinet and the legislature ‘raised questions about Taiwan’s ability to adequately fund its defense,’ the report said Taiwan’s defense budget, military personnel numbers and resilience are challenges to its ability to meet national defense goals, the US Naval Institute said in a report published on Tuesday. In response to the perception of a growing military threat posed by China, Taiwan has embarked on an effort to enhance the capabilities needed to deter an attempt by Beijing to annex the nation by force, the institute said in the US Congressional Research Service report, titled Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues, which was filed on Thursday last week. Taiwan’s defense budget increased by about 7.5 percent from 2024 to last year, it
66 FIGHTER JETS: The aircraft is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan — a significant step forward in the nation’s modernization program, a lawmaker said The first of Taiwan’s order of F-16V Block 70 aircraft has been sighted in Texas ahead of delivery, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. Taiwan’s first F-16V Block 70 two-seat aircraft, tail number 6831, was seen flying from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Greenville, South Carolina, to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas, Wang wrote on Facebook yesterday. The plane is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan, marking a significant step forward in the Republic of China Air Force’s modernization program, Wang said, citing military analysts. The F-16V Block 70 is a new-build version
NOT JUST NUMBERS: What matters to intelligence work is crucial, reliable information, so even a few credible leads can be highly valuable to national security, a legislator said The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said it has finished the establishment of an information-reporting channel for Chinese nationals, the aim of which is to broaden intelligence gathering on China’s political, military, economic and social developments. Chinese nationals can submit information on the Web page, https://report.nsb.gov.tw, the NSB said in a statement. The move aims to expand the bureau’s diverse intelligence sources and is pursuant to the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), it said, adding that it referenced practices adopted by intelligence agencies in the US, the UK and Israel. An increasing number of people are approaching Taiwanese agencies to provide information, as
RSS