Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday braved heavy rain to canvass for votes in Taichung — one of the administrative regions the party considers a decisive battleground in Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections.
Chu, wearing a light-blue jacket and a hat displaying his campaign slogan: “One Taiwan,” arrived in Taichung yesterday morning as scheduled and boarded a vehicle with bulletproof glass.
Chu originally planned to canvass the streets with six of the KMT’s eight candidates who are running for regional legislative seats in the city one-by-one. The six candidates are Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒), Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧), Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆), Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), Yang Chung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and Johnny Chiang (江啟臣).
Photo: AFP
However, Yen was not present due to a scheduling conflict and entrusted his younger sister, Taichung City councilor Yen Li-ming (顏莉敏) of the KMT, to hit the road with Chu on his behalf.
Yen Kuan-heng’s father, former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標) — whose family enjoys strong local ties and networks in the city — also came to greet Chu in his son’s stead.
“I have seen that in spite of the heavy rain, many of our supporters are still ardent and enthusiastic... Even though I am soaking wet, wind and rain can bring confidence and I would not let them stop me,” Chu said.
Chu dismissed concerns that Yen Kuan-heng’s absence yesterday is an indication that the KMT leadership is losing its grip on local fractions in Taichung, saying the decision to include Yen Kuan-heng in his street-canvassing schedule was made at the last minute.
“People have read too much into this. Initially, we planned to head directly to the city’s downtown area, but later decided to make another stop [at Yen Kuan-heng’s campaign headquarters],” Chu said.
Asked why Taichung was included in his last-stage campaign schedule and was also the first city he visited after securing the KMT’s nomination as its presidential candidate in October last year, Chu said he regards Taichung as extremely important.
Chu said central Taiwan is undoubtedly a decisive battleground in the upcoming election and the KMT is determined to beat the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the area.
The KMT lost Taichung to the DPP in the 2014 nine-in-one elections, after the city had been governed by former KMT vice chairman Jason Hu (胡志強) for 13 years.
The final stop in Chu’s vehicle procession was the Tzu Chi Temple (慈濟宮) in the city’s Fongyuan District (豐原), where the KMT candidate prayed to the sea goddess Mazu (媽祖) for victory in Saturday’s elections.
Chu traveled back to New Taipei City in the afternoon, where he canvassed in Wugu (五股), Lujhou (蘆洲) and Sanchong (三重) districts.
Meanwhile, Chu’s wife, Kao Wan-chien (高婉倩), visited a traditional market in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) yesterday morning to solicit support for her husband.
Accompanied by KMT legislative candidate Lin Kuo-chun (林國春) and Lin’s wife, Kao shook hands with vendors and doled out campaign-themed disposable hand warmers to onlookers.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or