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 (
The chief mechanic in an air force unit from which an F-16 and its pilot went missing last week died on Sunday evening in what might have been a suicide, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The ministry in a statement confirmed media reports that the mechanic, surnamed Huang (黃), “hurt himself” at a military barracks. Huang was taken to Hualien Armed Forces General Hospital after he was found unresponsive in the barracks, but doctors could not revive him, the ministry said. Huang served in the 26th Tactical Fighter Group of the 5th Tactical Fighter Wing, the same unit as the missing
‘VIRUS DIPLOMACY’: The nation’s expertise in handling COVID-19 was among the reasons that it should not be excluded from the WHO, the European Parliament said The European Parliament this week passed resolutions that support Taiwan’s bid to participate in the WHO and its intention to negotiate a trade pact with Taiwan. During its plenary session from Monday to Thursday, the parliament approved resolutions on the foreign policy consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak and the EU’s trade policy, parts of which were viewed as friendly toward Taiwan by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a statement yesterday, the ministry welcomed the passage of the resolutions and thanked the parliament for its support for Taiwan. In the first resolution, the parliament cited Beijing’s increasing threats to Taiwan, the crackdown on
NON-TYPICAL: Apart from Atsani, storms in autumn missed Taiwan, rainfall has been lower and average temperatures have been higher, a CWB forecaster said The current water shortage is expected to worsen in the next few months, with the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday forecasting a colder, dryer winter than normal. With winter starting next week, the bureau at a media briefing outlined the expected conditions through February and reviewed autumn’s significant weather events. Weather Forecast Center director Lu Kuo-cheng (呂國臣) said that autumn this year had three major characteristics: First, 13 tropical storms and typhoons formed from September to this month, up from 11 in the same period last year, Lu said. Apart from Atsani, for which sea and land alerts were issued in Taiwan, the tropical
The US’ inclusion of Taiwan in its Indo-Pacific Strategy is geared toward weakening Beijing’s influence in Southeast Asia, as well as providing a Blue Dot Network to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a senior Executive Yuan member said yesterday. Taiwan and the US would be seeking further collaboration on infrastructure construction and energy, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The US and Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding on the Framework to Strengthen Infrastructure, Finance and Market Cooperation on Sept. 17, which would see the Ministry of Finance and the US Department of the Treasury establishing respective task
RSS