Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday struck a different tone on the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential primary, saying that he would respect any arrangements made by KMT headquarters or the Central Standing Committee, including pitting him against other aspirants in a public opinion poll.
“Given the current situation, I cannot be included in opinion polls on the presidential election,” Han said. “As Kaohsiung mayor, I shoulder the expectations of Kaohsiung residents.”
“If party headquarters or the Central Standing Committee needs Han Kuo-yu in some way to make all kinds of arrangements, including opinion polls, I will respect” their decision, he said.
Photo: CNA
He made the remarks following a closed-door meeting with KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) at party headquarters in Taipei.
He also thanked Wu, first for nominating him as KMT Kaohsiung chapter chairman and then the Kaohsiung mayoral candidate in last year’s local elections.
Han said that he, Wu, and KMT vice chairmen Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) agreed at the meeting that the party must concentrate all their strength and unite ahead of next year’s presidential election, thereby protecting the Republic of China.
Responding to reporters’ questions on whether he would be the KMT’s candidate if he emerged as the front-runner in polls, Han only said: “What I just said was something I have never said before.”
Asked whether he and Wu talked about other KMT members who have expressed an interest in joining the KMT primary or how the primary would be conducted, Han said the model for yesterday’s meeting would be followed by other potential candidates.
He denied that his relationship with Wu had soured, saying that he is on friendly terms with his “former boss,” with whom he had a cordial meeting.
Asked whether he would make any clearer move to make known his desire to join the KMT primary, he said that with the party’s nomination rules still in limbo, he could only respect KMT headquarters’ decisions.
KMT Organizational Development Committee director Lee Che-hua (李哲華) said that the party is inclining toward drafting primary rules that the race be solely based on opinion polls.
Wu is to meet separately in the coming days with former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), KMT Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) and former Taipei County commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), all of whom have publicly stated their intention to take part in the primary, to seek their opinions on the primary rules, Lee said.
The primary rules and schedule could be passed by the Central Standing Committee by the middle of this month, while the KMT’s presidential candidate could be selected in early July and approved during the KMT National Congress on July 28, he added.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying