Business tycoon and KMT legislator Gary Wang (
It had previously been widely reported that, following his disqualification to run for the KMT because of pending fraud charges, Wang was to be a key member of a new political group that plans to play a high-profile role in the year-end legislative elections.
In a written statement, the three-term legislator admitted that a lot of his friends, including those from the political arena, have tried to persuade him to seek re-election.
"However, these contacts were limited to private chats and exchanges of opinion. I have not asked for any position or made any commitment, and I have not made any decision to run in the elections," Wang said.
Wang said recent speculation concerning his political career planning have been troubling him, which prompted him to make the public announcement yesterday.
"I won't run in any geographic legislative constituency at year end, and I decline, with thanks, arrangements offered from any sides to nominate me as a legislator at large," Wang said.
"I will invest more time and effort in -- and concentrate myself on -- running the media business, and do the best I can to do my part in the bid to revive Taiwan's commercial and industrial sectors," he added.
Wang is chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce of the ROC (中華民國全國商業總會) and vice chairman of the Rebar Group (力霸東森企業集團), a major investor in the real estate, cable TV and fixed-line telecommunication industries.
Wang, currently a legislator at-large representing the KMT, has been disqualified by the party from nomination as an at-large legislator for the next term, because of his alleged involvement in a series of land fraud deals concerning the state-run Taiwan Development and Trust Corp (TDTC,
Wang was indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office in January over the case.
Over the past few months, there have been reports claiming Wang was organizing a new political group together with some sitting independent lawmakers. It was also rumored that Wang was going to be nominated for an at-large seat representing the group because of his financial backing of the group.
The at-large seats are allocated to political parties or groups that are able to garner at least 5 percent of the vote in the legislative elections. Their vote shares decide how many at-large seats they qualify for.
The political group in question is expected to be founded in July and may be named the "Taiwan Justice Alliance," with members including Tsai Hau (蔡豪), Lo Fu-chu (羅福助), Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁) and Wu Tze-yuan (伍澤元). Chen yesterday said Wang's decision to quit will not affect their plan to form the group.
‘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
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
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the