Coming on the heels of their televised political forum Saturday, both candidates for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Yesterday Ma took his campaign to Kaohsiung where he told supporters that he appreciates Wang for his experience in the legislature. But he told partisans there to "affirm Wang Jin-pyng but vote for Ma Ying-jeou."
The Taipei mayor also said that the KMT should not be divided after the chairmanship election, regardless of who wins the election.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YIH, TAIPEI TIMES
Addressing long-standing doubts about his relationship with Wang, given their rivalry in the chairmanship election, Ma said that he and Wang have both promised to work together.
Should he lose, said Ma, he will accept any party duties Wang delegates to him. Similarly, should be win, he and Wang will, together to administer the KMT, Ma said.
Echoing comments he made during his televised speech on Saturday, Ma said that "reform is not a just slogan."
"We must let everyone believe that the KMT [is worthy of] hope. Only this way can we appeal to moderate voters and young voters," Ma said.
The Taipei mayor also took the opportunity to criticize the administration of President Chen Shui-bian (
"The Executive Yuan wishes to revise the Referendum Law (
"While referendums are not some sort of monster, it should be the people themselves who take the initiative push for political participation, not the government," Ma said.
The Cabinet proposed an amendment to the Referendum Law last week to lower the necessary number of people to initiate a referendum. Since the proposal was made, it has faced heavy criticism by the pan-blue camp in the legislature.
Currently, to initiate a referendum, at least 0.5 percent of all qualified voters -- approximately 80,000 people -- must endorse a referendum initiative.
Chen has already publicly said that it is impossible to make a new constitution or to change the nation's name, meaning he should put all efforts into the economy instead of his pushing for amendments, Ma said.
Meanwhile, Wang yesterday mingled with supporters in Changhua County, and sought the support of young party members there.
"Everyone says that Ma is very handsome, but there are also people that say that there are different kinds of good-looking," Wang said yesterday.
"Ma Ying-jeou is one kind of handsome, and Wang Jin-pyng is another kind of handsome." he said jokingly.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
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