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.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source