People First Party (PFP) presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday announced Republican Party chairperson Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) will be his running mate in the Jan. 16 election, as part of his campaign promise to form a coalition government.
“As you all can see, there is something different with the tie I wear today,” Soong told a news conference in Taipei while pointing to his light purple tie, an uncommon choice for the PFP chairman who usually wears a tie in the party’s color of orange.
Soong said that only through a concerted effort can the future leader of Taiwan help restore the public’s lost confidence and pride, and create a brighter future for generations to come.
Photo: CNA
“Cooperation does not mean combination, because there is no need to break oneself into pieces just to reach a compromise,” Soong said. “Instead, you should keep being yourself while expanding your mind to accommodate different types of people.”
Soong said his selection of Hsu was driven by four main reasons, including his plan to establish a coalition government if elected president in the hopes of putting an end to divisions between political parties and to forge a shared dream.
“The second reason is the need for future leaders to put down their ‘maximized self’ in the pursuit of public well-being and a joint future for the nation and its people,” Soong said.
Soong said the third reason is Hsu’s expertise in engineering and technology and his admiration for her ability to obtain a doctoral degree in civil engineering from National Chiao Tung University after turning down a scholarship offered by NASA to take care of her ailing mother.
The last reason was that despite her relatively young age, Hsu won the largest number of votes when running for a seat in the Legislative Yuan in 2012 and has made exceptional achievements during her term, Soong said.
“What I admire about Hsu the most is her personality and character. Corruption has been the primary reason people loathe politics, but Hsu is someone who was willing to give up a rare opportunity for her mother and has demonstrated morality and discipline throughout her political career,” Soong said.
“I am as surprised as you are that I am standing here today. In the political environment that I know of, no politicians will have the magnanimity to cooperate with others because they are oftentimes preoccupied with calculations,” Hsu said.
Hsu said Soong once told her that his goal is to help Taiwan, not the party, and that only by giving away can one reap the greatest harvest.
“I was moved by Soong’s words because society is indeed in need of greater tolerance of other people’s ideas and demands,” Hsu said.
“What the nation requires is a leader with governing experience, rather than someone who is to experiment,” she said, adding that Soong is the most reliable and experienced candidate in the race.
Hsu participated in her first election in 2005 when she ran for a post as Hsinchu County councilor. After being defeated in her bid for a legislative post in the city in 2007, she joined the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and was re-elected as Hsinchu County councilor in 2009.
The KMT nominated Hsu as a legislative candidate for the 2012 elections, which she won after garnering 171,466 votes.
Hsu withdrew from the KMT in January, saying Taiwan needed more than just the choice between “blue and green.”
She founded the Republican Party in March, with the stated aims of putting a stop to political wrangling between parties and empowering the nation and its people.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,