Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, yesterday tapped former premier Simon Chang (張善政) as his running mate in next year’s presidential election.
Han said that since his nomination in July to represent the party, Chang has always been at the top of his list for vice president.
“The choice was not simply based on whether he would help attract more votes, but how he could share the work of running the nation,” Han told a news conference in Kaohsiung.
Photo: CNA
Having worked as a premier under former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and head of Google’s Asia-Pacific hardware operations, and currently a professor emeritus at National Chiao Tung University, Chang has achieved great success in politics, the private sector and academia, Han said.
Chang holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Stanford University and a doctoral degree in the same discipline from Cornell University, Han said.
To achieve the goal of “making Taiwan safe and its people rich,” Han said that as president, he would work on cross-strait relations, foreign affairs and national defense to ensure safety, while his premier and vice president would work collaboratively to focus on “making people rich.”
“My vice president would be very busy — definitely not a substitute who has no voice,” Han said.
Both he and Chang love the Republic of China deeply and are concerned about Taiwan’s future, he said, adding that they share a hope that the presidential election on Jan. 11 would be a fair and civil competition between candidates, despite the political environment.
Chang, who earlier this year announced a presidential bid before dropping the plan in August, said that joining Han’s policy advisory team has changed his mind about being vice president.
Although he had said he would not be anyone’s vice president, describing the role as a “mascot” and “ignored wife,” since becoming head of Han’s policy advisory team, he has become convinced that as Han’s vice president, he could contribute more by taking part in promoting policies he is helping to plan.
As an independent, he hopes to help build people’s confidence in Han, someone who “cares only about right and wrong, and never political parties,” Chang said.
He said that for the past three-and-a-half years, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has proven incompetent and authoritarian, and has squandered national resources.
“I believe we would do a much better job at running the nation,” he said.
Chang is to be formally nominated as the KMT’s vice presidential candidate once the party’s Central Standing Committee approves his nomination tomorrow.
Chang has a strong resume in academia, business and politics, the KMT said in a statement, adding that the two men complement each other well.
“Chang demonstrated his enthusiasm and love for Taiwan as premier,” the KMT said. “The Han-Chang ticket is expected to boost the KMT’s chances of winning the presidential election.”
KMT caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) commended Han’s choice, describing Chang as a person of excellent character, with comprehensive academic, business and political experience.
KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said he expects Chang to help Han garner more votes, describing the two as a “dream team.”
Tsai’s campaign office declined to comment on Han’s decision.
Democratic Progressive Party Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Chih-hung (林智鴻) said that Han choosing Chang as his running mate “is like finding a political babysitter” for himself.
Additional reporting by CNA and Chen Wen-chan
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS