Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday passed the 30 percent threshold in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) three presidential primary polls yesterday, with an average approval rating of 46.203 percent.
Hung, who was the only contender, can now be nominated by the KMT to run in the presidential election in January next year.
She thanked her supporters during a news conference at the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
“This is only the first step,” Hung said, adding that she would move forward with greater confidence to secure the nomination.
Hung said she expects the KMT’s national party convention on Friday to formally pick her as the party’s presidential nominee and that a presidential election between two women would mark a new page in the development of democracy in Taiwan.
According to KMT sources, “hesitation and cowardice” by the so-called “KMT heavyweights” in failing to run in the primary drove party members to support Hung and helped her pass the primary poll threshold.
The polls were organized by three agencies — Trengo, Statinc and the United Daily News — each of which was required to collect more than 1,200 valid samples.
The polls measured Hung’s approval rating running alone and against Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The final results were an average of the two scenarios in the three polls.
KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said the high approval rating demonstrated that Hung had wide support among the public.
“Hung’s insistence on throwing her hat into the ring and her position on the future of our party has encouraged many supporters. We are proud of her,” Hau said.
Hau said he would convene a meeting of the nomination and auditing committee tomorrow to confirm the outcome of the polls before submitting the results to the KMT’s Central Standing Committee on Wednesday.
Hung yesterday said political views, professional ethics and age would be important considerations when selecting a running mate.
Hung added that she has a rough idea about who she wants as her vice presidential candidate, but declined to elaborate any further.
Hung, 67, said she expects her running mate to be younger than her, have the same political views, a positive moral character, impeccable professional ethics and a background that complements her own.
Meanwhile, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said he is happy about the outcome of the primary and added that Hung’s nomination would be processed according to party rules.
According to Chu, Hung’s nomination would first be confirmed by the nomination committee and then submitted to the Central Standing Committee, which meets on Wednesdays, for approval.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would fully support whichever candidate the KMT nominates to run in the next presidential election, Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said yesterday.
“As a member of the KMT, President Ma will extend his backing to the candidate nominated by the party,” Chen said.
If nominated by the KMT, Hung would run against Tsai, who lost the 2012 presidential race to Ma.
SAFETY RISK: The government is working to categorize countries based on their COVID-19 cases and prevention efforts, which would determine quarantine periods The government plans to rank countries based on their COVID-19 risks to determine how to treat tourists and other travelers from those nations once Taiwan reopens its borders, but it is still working out the categories, a top health official told lawmakers yesterday. “We would divide countries around the world into several categories. One category would comprise those countries with very few confirmed COVID-19 cases, such as New Zealand and Palau. Travelers from the countries in this category would only need to practice self-health management,” Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) told a Legislative Yuan seminar hosted by
China would attack Taiwan if there is no other way of stopping it from becoming independent, Chinese General Li Zuocheng (李作成) said yesterday. Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the 15th anniversary of China’s “Anti-Secession” Law, Li, who is chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Central Military Commission, left the door open to using force. The 2005 law is China’s legislative basis for military action against Taiwan. “If the possibility for peaceful reunification is lost, the people’s armed forces will, with the whole nation, including the people of Taiwan, take all necessary steps to
SECURITY CONCERNS: The Telecom Technology Center ran black-box tests for the Executive Yuan on devices and software from Chinese, US and South Korean firms Network devices from several Chinese manufacturers are insecure and allow personal information to be leaked, testing commissioned by the Executive Yuan has shown. A variety of devices and software, including apps, from Chinese, US and South Korean manufacturers that are used by government agencies at the central and local level were subjected to black-box testing — in which the functionality of an application is examined without knowing about its internal structure, an information-security official said yesterday on condition of anonymity. The Telecom Technology Center conducted the tests, which simulated cyberattacks, to determine their resilience to the attacks, the official said. The center
CASH BOOST: Foreign spouses with residency permits are also eligible for the coupons, which can be bought at post offices or linked to digital payment options Stimulus coupons for Taiwanese and foreign spouses with residency permits can be ordered starting on July 1 and can be used from July 15 to Dec. 31, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. Aimed at boosting domestic spending, the coupons worth NT$3,000 (US$100.04) are to cost NT$1,000. “For our consumers, this is a very good deal as they get three times as much value for their money,” Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told a news conference in Taipei. While the coupons are to have a wide range of uses, including at department stores, restaurants, book stores, night markets, beauty and hair salons, hotels, and to
RSS