With the Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral elections just a week away, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma took the opportunity to deny allegations that his party was banking on the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) recent string of scandals to deter voters.
"The DPP has been involved in a string of corruption scandals and has been renounced by the people ... But the KMT doesn't take any pleasure in this and we are not building our success on the failure of others," Ma said while attending a campaign event for his party's candidates for city councilor.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The KMT, however, has defined the elections as "a vote of no confidence in President Chen Shui-bian (
Urging all party candidates to serve the people with integrity, Ma said he predicted KMT Taipei mayoral candidate Hau Lung-bin (
Vowing to win the election, Hau, who leads other candidates in the polls, dismissed accusations that he had not made enough of an effort to visit municipal districts to solicit grassroots support.
Hau said he was "concerned by the smear tactics employed by DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Frank Hsieh (
Hau Lung-bin's camp claimed that Hsieh's camp was planning to spread a rumor that Hau Lung-bin has an illegitimate son.
"The rumor is a joke. But as the election is approaching, I can't overlook such smear tactics," Hau said.
Citing the case of KMT Legislator Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who lost the last Kaohsiung mayoral election to Hsieh over a rumor that Wu had an affair with a female reporter, Hau said he would take legal action if Hsieh spread any rumors about him.
Hsieh denied spreading any rumors and said he would provide evidence of Hau Pei-tsun's involvement in the Lafayette scandal.
"I've never make any accusations that Hau had an illegitimate son. They [Hau's camp] said it -- we never said any such thing," Hsieh said.
Acknowledging that the party's election outlook was not as bright in Kaohsiung as it was in Taipei, Ma will spend the weekend campaigning for KMT Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Huang Chun-ying (黃俊英).
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
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Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner