Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said that he would not join the party’s presidential primary, but did not say if he would run for president as an independent.
Whether the KMT can regain political power in next year’s presidential election is key to the survival and development of the Republic of China (ROC), Wang said in a statement released after his meeting with the KMT’s nomination panel at his Taipei office.
Despite that, the party has been indifferent to questions and concerns raised about its primary regulations, and has done nothing to improve them, he said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“Instead of participating in an abnormal primary, I would rather devote all my energy to visiting members of the public, networking and integrating resources to solidify what we have and prepare myself for any future occasion where I might be called upon by the party, the public or society to do work for the ROC,” Wang said.
All the resources he is to integrate would be useful to the party, he said, adding: “I will definitely not disappoint the people who hope to see the ruling party step down in next year’s presidential election.”
He informed the KMT’s nomination panel of his decision during the meeting, Wang told reporters following the meeting.
Asked if he would run for president as an independent or in another manner, Wang said: “There is still plenty of time [until the presidential election].”
He would still attend a rally in Kaohsiung tomorrow to mark the founding of his supporters’ club in the city, he said.
Wang pointed to his statement, saying that he would visit members of the public to understand their needs and all resources he gathers would help the KMT.
Asked if he would support any specific primary candidate, Wang said not at the moment.
The KMT said that it respects Wang’s decision.
The KMT is thankful to Wang for being willing to share his resources with the party and hopes that all of its supporters could work together to help it win the presidential election, the party said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) said in a statement that Wang’s decision to continue visiting supporters and networking would add momentum to the party and help it win the presidential election.
Wang is a valuable asset to the KMT and everyone understands his contribution, Gou said.
Asked by reporters at Hon Hai’s headquarters in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) if he and Wang had reached a deal for Wang to run as his vice president, Gou said that the former legislative speaker’s statement came as a shock to him.
“I knew absolutely nothing about it and there is no such alliance between us,” Gou said. “There probably would not be any teams, because the primary has not even begun.”
Separately, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) said that he was surprised to hear about Wang’s decision.
He expressed gratitude to Wang for his assistance during Kaohsiung’s mayoral election last year.
Wang must have his own reasons and opinion, and everyone should respect that, Han told reporters at the Kaohsiung City Government building, adding that he would find time to thank Wang and seek his advice.
He later issued a statement praising Wang’s contribution to the party and reiterating his gratitude for Wang’s support.
“We must keep Wang in the party and work together to bring down the Democratic Progressive Party and save Taiwan from further downgrades,” the statement said.
Asked about Wang’s decision, former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) said at an event at the New Taipei City Council that he respects Wang’s choice and hopes he will play a pivotal role in supporting the party in the presidential election.
Chu said that he believes Wang would not leave the party, adding that the party needs to follow the primary regulations passed by the KMT Central Standing Committee.
Before making the announcement, Wang had discussed the issue with his campaign team for a week, a source familiar with the matter said.
He eventually decided against joining the primary after the party continued to ignore his protests over changes it made to the primary regulations and seeing Han’s successful rally on Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard on Saturday, they said.
Wang analyzed poll results and found that he has almost zero support from core KMT supporters, the source added.
While a few members of his team want him leave the KMT to run for president, Wang considers himself a loyal party member and is not inclined to do so, the source said.
Gou and Han have sought to collaborate with Wang, but Wang would not choose sides at the moment, they added.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun
‘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