Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) might face at least two challengers in the party’s chairperson election in May, as former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) are expected to announce their bids at separate news conferences on Monday.
Wu, who briefly served as interim KMT chairman in December 2014 after then-party leader Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) stepped down over an electoral defeat, yesterday confirmed, although ambiguously, that he is interested in vying for the KMT chairmanship.
“Despite being only an opposition party at the moment, the KMT must nevertheless do its utmost to scrutinize the ruling party to ensure that our nation can continue to improve and develop. Many of my fellow party members are looking to me to fulfill those expectations,” Wu said yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Photojournalist Society
Wu said as both the nation and the party had offered him significant assistance when he served as KMT vice chairman, premier and lawmaker, he must “shoulder a portion of the burden of responsibility” when the party is in distress.
“That is why I must give serious consideration [to joining the chairperson race]. I shall have some news for you on Monday,” Wu said.
Wu’s office later announced that the former vice president will hold a news conference at 10am on Monday to make an announcement, but did not disclose what the conference would address.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, at a public forum in Taipei yesterday, Hau said he will make an announcement once he makes up his mind, after he was asked whether he intends to run for the KMT chairmanship.
The more people join the chairmanship race the better, Hau said.
It was later rumored that Hau also plans to announce his candidacy on Monday.
When reached for verification, Hau’s office neither confirmed nor denied the rumor, saying only that more information might be released today.
The KMT’s upcoming chairperson election has been dogged by controversy since the party headquarters last month unexpectedly moved forward the race from July 20 to May 20, before passing the decision through a meeting of the KMT’s Central Standing Committee without a quorum.
Hung announced that she will run for re-election during an interview with the Chinese-language United Daily Evening News published on Sunday last week, when she said she “has an incurable sense of mission toward the KMT and cross-strait ties.”
Hung was elected party chairwoman on March 26 last year to serve the remaining term of the KMT’s sixth chairman, Ma, who won re-election on July 20, 2013, before stepping down on Dec. 3, 2014, to take political responsibility for the KMT’s defeat in the nine-in-one elections that year.
Ma was succeeded by New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Jan. 19, 2015, who resigned on Jan. 16 last year after losing the presidential race to the Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
NEW LOW: The council in 2024 based predictions on a pessimistic estimate for the nation’s total fertility rate of 0.84, but last year that rate was 0.69, 17 percent lower An expected National Development Council (NDC) report expects the nation’s population to drop below 12 million by 2065, with the old-age dependency ratio to top 100 percent sooner than 2070, sources said yesterday. The council is slated to release its latest population projections in August, using an ultra-low fertility model, the sources said. The previous report projected that Taiwan’s population would fall to 14.37 million by 2070, but based on a new estimate of the total fertility rate (TFR) — the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime — the population is expected to reach 12 million by
COUNTERING HOSTILITY: The draft bill would require the US to increase diplomatic pressure on China and would impose sanctions on those who sabotage undersea cable networks US lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill to bolster the resilience of Taiwan’s submarine cables to counter China’s hostile activities. The proposal, titled the critical undersea infrastructure resilience initiative act, was cosponsored by Republican representatives Mike Lawler and Greg Stanton, and Democratic Representative Dave Min. US Senators John Curtis and Jacky Rosen also introduced a companion bill in the US Senate, which has passed markup at the chamber’s Committee on Foreign Relations. The House’s version of the bill would prioritize the deployment of sensors to detect disruptions or potential sabotage in real-time and enhance early warning capabilities through global intelligence sharing frameworks,
RSS