Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday rejected the idea that the party ignore its primary system and draft a candidate to run in next year’s presidential election, party spokesperson Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said.
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) and other KMT Central Standing Committee members suggested during yesterday’s weekly meeting that the party rely solely on polls to decide whom to nominate for the January election.
Lu suggested that Chu, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) be listed as possible candidates and that the party’s ticket be based on who places first and second in the polls.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The KMT’s primary rules stipulate that the party can only draft a candidate when the hopefuls who have met the signature collection threshold fail to be backed by more than 30 percent of respondents in a poll comparing them with the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential nominee, held as the second stage of the primary process.
Hung was one of only two party members who registered for the presidential primary.
However, she was the only one whose valid signature collection met the required threshold.
At present, Hung would be the only KMT member pitted against DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), her party’s presidential candidate.
Lu said he was worried that such a poll could be rigged by Tsai’s supporters because they would like to see Hung win the KMT nomination.
Another suggestion was made that if such a poll is to be conducted, pan-green camp supporters should be excluded, Lin said.
Lu’s proposal was not accepted by the committee after Chu urged the party to unite behind its primary system and not to take a pre-determined stance, Lin said.
According to a survey by the Chinese-language China Times newspaper, 34 percent of the respondents said they would vote for Hung in January’s election.
Hung said that although she did not think it would be easy to meet the requirement of winning more than 30 percent support in a head-to-head poll against Tsai, the suggestions by the Central Standing Committee members seeking alternative candidates would “spur” her efforts to win support from the public, especially those voters in southern Taiwan.
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