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 (
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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