Chinese President Hu Jintao (
"I sincerely hope that the KMT and the [CCP], together with compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits [sic], will continue to promote the peaceful and steady development of cross-straits [sic] relations, and join hands to create a bright future for the Chinese nation," the government's official Xinhua news agency quoted Hu as telling Ma in a message of congratulation.
The message was sent to the KMT Central Committee and to Ma personally, the agency said.
The election win by the relatively young and charismatic Ma on Saturday paved the way for him to run for president in 2008.
Ma, 55, beat Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"The sole purpose for my joining the election is to improve the chance for the Chinese Nationalist Party to win the 2008 presidential polls. I hope all our people will unite to help KMT regain power in 2008," Ma told a news conference.
To improve Taiwan-China ties, Ma invited ex-KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Saturday's election was the first direct election for the chairmanship of the KMT, which ruled Taiwan for half a century until it lost the presidential polls in 2000 to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
KMT lost again to the DPP in last year's presidential election. Disillusioned with the KMT, some members left the party to form two splinter parties -- the People First Party (PFP) and the New Party (NP).
Ma, a former law professor and justice minister, is seen by many as a strong candidate for 2008. He opposes Taiwan's independence and has proposed shelving the debate over Taiwan's status, in order to seek economic cooperation with China.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
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