KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (
During a press conference held yesterday and apparently designed to show his confidence in the results of the election, Lien also referred to the campaign as a two-horse race -- and that he would beat the DPP's Chen Shui-bian (
"According to information we have gathered, I have confidence that I will garner about five million votes," Lien said, adding that all feasible policies he proposed would be accepted by voters.
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSING, LIBERTY TIMES
There are estimated to be more than 15 million people eligible to vote nationwide.
Lien said if elected, he would hold a third National Affairs Reform Conference -- and the first since the National Development Conference (
"The elite from diverse parties and organizations will be welcome to contribute their opinions on reforming domestic policies at the conference," Lien said, adding that the main issues would include eliminating "black gold" politics, providing opportunities for fairer party competition, as well as reforming the political, judicial and educational systems.
Lien said a task force would be established between March 18, when he would be elected, and his inauguration on May 20, to plan preparatory meetings for the conference.
Lien said that preparatory meetings would be held within three months after May 20.
"Many of the elite in Taiwan have been on my side to accomplish the goal of promoting Taiwan," Lien said, unveiling a list of 100 influential people from the fields of industry, culture, small- and medium-sized enterprises and academia.
Such figures include Koo Chen-fu (
It was believed that Lien's camp meant to use the name list as a response to similar lists recently released by Chen, who claimed that he had gained support from many of the country's most important citizens.
However, some people on the pro-Lien list have already expressed their support for Chen, including Lin Hsin-yi (
Lien's reason for the existence of the overlapping names was that he "welcomed" people with diverse backgrounds.
"After all, we hope we can draw positive conclusions as we did at the National Development Conference in 1996," Lien said.
A positive result of the conference, led by President Lee Teng-hui (
None of the 100 people on Lien's list of supporters appeared at the press conference in Taipei.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)