Chinese Nationalist Party KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday morning apologized for referring to Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) as “a fat sow” and said that although he made an inappropriate comment on Saturday, he longs for clean and honest elections.
Wu made the remark about the former Kaohsiung mayor during an event for KMT Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
It was a “non-public event with about 10 or 20 people,” the former vice president and premier, who also served as Kaohsiung mayor from 1990 to 1998, said yesterday.
Photo: CNA
Wu said that he was an old friend of former Examination Yuan member Huang Chun-ying (黃俊英) and that several people at Saturday’s event had come from Huang’s hometown.
He and some of them got emotional when the subject turned to the Kaohsiung mayoral election 12 years ago, when Huang was a candidate, he said.
Huang lost the election due to false rumors of bribery and remained deeply troubled by the allegations until he died, Wu said.
His comment about Chen was “inappropriate,” whether as an “indirect reference to her or description about her,” Wu said as he bowed in front of photographers to Chen and others hurt by his remark.
He asked KMT Vice Secretary-General Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) on Saturday to apologize to the public on his behalf, Wu said.
The most important thing is to ensure elections are “clean, honest” and “free of unethical moves,” he said, adding that this is what he deeply longs for and has always believed in throughout his decades-long political career.
Han is also against unethical election efforts, Wu said, referring to Han’s remarks at an event on Saturday that he would rather “lose the election while keeping his integrity than win by cheating.”
There was no need for Han to join him in an apology, because the inappropriate comment was his alone, Wu added.
Asked if his remark could hurt the KMT’s campaign, Wu said it would not, adding that he had apologized for what needed an apology.
Asked why he had not immediately apologized on Saturday, Wu said the first reports on his remark said it was an “insinuation.”
Whether it was a direct comment on Chen was irrelevant to the fact that it was inappropriate, he said.
Wu’s Facebook account was flooded by Han’s supporters demanding that he take responsibility for his remark, and Wu said that he respects their opinions.
He reiterated that he had “apologized for what needed an apology and would insist on what needs to be insisted on.”
At a Democratic Progressive Party rally in Kaohsiung last night, Chen made her first comment on the issue, telling the crowd: “I am a daughter of Taiwanese, I am not a big sow.”
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
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
RSS