The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday dismissed allegations of difficulties in its election campaign in southern cities and counties, but said the party would continue to focus on its campaign efforts in central and southern Taiwan.
The south, including Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung, have traditionally been strongholds for the pan-green camp. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is seeking re-election, is setting up his first southern campaign office in Greater Tainan to expand his support base in the south.
Leading the election campaign in Greater Tainan, local KMT heavyweight Huang Cheng-hsiung (黃正雄) said yesterday that grassroots supporters in the city were joining efforts to campaign for Ma and that the party would arrange for Ma and his running mate, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), to make frequent visits to Greater Tainan and other parts of southern Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Huang dismissed a report that quoted him as saying that the KMT was facing difficulties in the south and that local factions were reluctant to offer assistance in the presidential election campaign. He said party members in the south would work hard to attract more support for the KMT in the presidential and legislative elections.
“President Ma is putting a great deal of effort into southern Taiwan. Campaigning in Greater Tainan is not easy because of the merger of Tainan County and Tainan City, but we are still hoping that we can have a small lead over the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] in the city,” he said yesterday at the KMT headquarters.
In an interview with the Chinese-language China Times published yesterday, Huang was quoted as saying that local factions in Greater Tainan were reluctant to join the election campaign and that it would be difficult for Ma to repeat his victory in the city in the 2008 presidential election, in which he received 6,000 more votes in the former Tainan City than then-DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS