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 Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
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