The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate yesterday poured scorn on a proposal from the People First Party (PFP) that the two opposition groups should conduct a survey to decide the pan-blue camp's candidate for the Taipei race.
"Since I was elected as KMT's candidate through its primary, which was held in a democratic way, I am more legitimate than anyone [else] to represent the party," Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said yesterday in the legislature.
The KMT chose Hau as its candidate in a party primary on Sunday after he won 60 percent of the vote from party members and Taipei residents, beating Legislator Ting Shou-chung (
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
Hau visited the KMT caucus yesterday to seek support, he said, since most of his votes on Sunday came from non-party members.
After the primary, PFP Chairman James Soong (
"It seemed to me that the suggestion was `green room politics' [closed-door negotiations]. While I didn't get many votes among party members, I am the legitimate KMT candidate," Hau said.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said on Monday the party would consider Soong's suggestion and a resolution acceptable to both parties could be adopted.
KMT Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴), who withdrew from the primary late last month, said Sunday's results should be respected.
"Some tensions among party members during the primary process were unavoidable, but I urge pan-blue supporters to back Hau and respect the result of the primary," he said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost