Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral hopeful Hau Lung-bin (
Hau, a former Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) chief, has vowed to raise the integrity of the KMT's primary and had previously declined to comment on any accusations from rivals.
However, facing criticism from former opponent Yeh Chin-chuan (
He said the criticisms were made to protect the interest of a political party rather than the country's interests.
He defended his previous departure from the KMT, saying it was made in response to former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) involvement in "black gold" politics.
"Since entering politics my sole principle has been that the national interest should always be higher than that of political parties ... I left the KMT for the New Party because former KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui was involved in black gold politics and had messed up the national identity," he said on his political blog titled "Reading Hau Long-bin."
"I am not a political chameleon, Lee Teng-hui is," he said.
Hau said he had accepted the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's invitation to join the Cabinet as EPA head in order to solve environmental problems in the interest of all people.
He also denied allegations he had campaigned for Council of Labor Affairs Chairman Lee Ying-yuan (
"I never campaigned for any DPP members, including Lee Ying-yuan ... I did write a preface for his autobiography, but I never agreed to let him use it as a campaign tool," Hau said.
Ting, who had been given a written reprimand from the KMT for print ads attacking Hau, yesterday promised to focus on municipal issues in future campaign ads, but refused to refrain from criticizing his rival.
"Someone sees the KMT as a public restroom he can enter and leave as he wishes. He ignored party morals and party rules, and the KMT should take this issue seriously," Ting said while attending a veterans' gathering at the KMT's headquarters.
Ting continued his criticism Hau at a press conference at the legislature yesterday afternoon.
"He said he left the KMT due to Lee Teng-hui's black gold involvement, but how could he fail to see the same problem in the DPP?" Ting said.
"He has deeply hurt both the KMT and Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
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BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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