Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) declared his intention to run for Taipei mayor during a visit to the mausoleum of his father, late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), yesterday.
While visiting the former president's mausoleum in Touliao (
"As a former foreign minister and a lawmaker who is dedicated to cross-strait issues, I have decided to run in the race, and listen to the voice of the people," he said, adding that he will make a formal announcement after the Lunar New Year.
Asked to comment on his potential rival in the election, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Soong also paid their respects to the late president yesterday.
While a tearful Ma, who served as Chiang Ching-kuo's English translator, pledged to carry out the late Chiang's wish to be a politician with integrity, Soong called himself a follower of Chiang Ching-kuo, who Soong said was a tireless servant of the people in Taiwan during his term as the governor of Taiwan Province.
Soong declined to comment on John Chiang's announcement.
Faced with the difficulty of finding the perfect candidate for the KMT and even a possible pan-blue split, should Soong decided to run for Taipei mayor, Ma said yesterday that pan-blue integration is crucial if the camp is to win the race over the pan-greens. He declined to comment on Soong's possible candidacy.
"We've learned from many previous elections that pan-blue integration is key if we want to win ? But I do not want to make any comment on candidates representing other parties," he said yesterday during a gathering with the press at the city hall.
Saying that his party will choose a final candidate through primaries, Ma said it would be "improper" for him to persuade the former deputy mayor Ou Chin-der (
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
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