Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday apologized to New Taipei City residents for breaking his promise to serve out his term as the municipality’s mayor after being endorsed by a KMT extempore congress to replace Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as the party’s presidential candidate.
Following a landslide vote to rescind Hung’s candidacy, a majority of the 891 KMT representatives at the congress approved Chu’s nomination by standing up and applauding.
The congress authorized Chu to recommend a possible vice presidential candidate, whose nomination is then to be assessed by the party’s seven-person presidential nomination evaluation panel headed by KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
Photo: CNA
Against the backdrop of party representatives chanting: “Eric Chu, winning the election” and “Go KMT,” Chu said it was with a solemn and heavy heart that he shouldered the expectations the public had for the party.
“Starting today [yesterday], we will adjust our pace and start afresh,” Chu said. “This critical moment might go down in history as a day of polarization for the KMT, but it could also be a time of solidarity.”
Chu said the reason he dared to accept the challenge in the KMT’s darkest hour was the same reason that prompted him to enter politics 17 years ago: to ensure a better world for future generations.
Photo: CNA
Chu said he had been reluctant to consider joining the Jan. 16 race because of the pledge he made to New Taipei City residents when he announced he would run for re-election as mayor in June last year and vowed to serve out a second term.
“Nevertheless, to safeguard the KMT’s reins of government and majority in the legislature, as well as the future of the public and the Republic of China [ROC] ... I must apologize to each New Taipei City resident who supports me,” Chu said.
“I want to tell every Taiwanese and resident of the city that I am doing this because I have to protect the ROC we love, the democratic politics we have fought to preserve and our healthy democracy of checks and balances,” he said.
Should the KMT become a minority party in the legislature or gain less than one-third of the legislative seats in the Jan. 16 elections — to be held alongside the presidential vote — no one can imagine what the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) might do, Chu said.
Chu said that if the KMT fails to maintain its legislative majority, the nation’s future, as well as cross-strait peace could be jeopardized.
Challenging DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to a debate on cross-strait policies, Chu said Tsai should define the “status quo” she intended to maintain.
“Does her ‘status quo’ refer to the situation maintained by the KMT based on the [so-called] ‘1992 consensus’ or the one championed by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in accordance with his ‘three noes’ policy — no unification, no independence and no use of force,” Chu asked.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Chu said he would push for the reinstatement of the legislature’s power to approve the premier appointed by the president as part of the KMT’s effort to promote a Cabinet system of government.
He also vowed to deliver a national report to the legislature each year.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS