A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker yesterday said that efforts to form a presidential ticket with former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"I believe that Wang will announce [that he will not pair up with Ma] when he gets back from Malaysia," KMT Legislator Hsu Shu-po (
Wang left for Malaysia yesterday to deliver a speech at the invitation of the Asian Chinese Entrepreneurs Summit and was scheduled to return to Taiwan today.
Approached by the press about the likelihood of a "Ma-Wang ticket" before his departure, Wang said he would "give everyone an answer" after his return.
After Ma formally offered Wang the vice presidential ticket on May 9, Wang on Saturday publicly discussed his stance for the first time.
Wang said that he would rather speak of "Ma-Wang cooperation" instead of a "Ma-Wang ticket," because it effectively communicated their mutual goal of helping the party win next year's presidential election.
Asked to interpret Wang's remarks, Hsu, who is affiliated with Wang, said that the speaker would turn down Ma's offer.
If Wang accepts Ma's offer, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would demand Wang quit as speaker for the reason that the speaker must remain neutral, Hsu said.
"Considering the possible ramifications it could have on the party's election performance if he resigned, Wang believes that he should stay put," Hsu said.
KMT Legislator Hung Shiu-chu (
"A marriage won't work if a groom is forced to marry a bride he doesn't really like. Wang knows that well and he thinks he can help Ma more if his cooperation with Ma takes another form rather than being his running mate," Hung said.
Wang has advanced the deadline for giving Ma a definite answer from June 24 to Thursday at Ma's request.
Ma said on Friday he hoped Wang would give a definite answer by the end of this month.
Wang said he would meet with Ma by Thursday and let him know his decision.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
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