Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan’s (連戰) son, Sean Lien (連勝文), who was shot in the face at an election campaign event last year, joined party members yesterday to campaign for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Sean Lien showed up at the KMT’s Central Committee meeting in Taipei and attended a campaign event organized by Ma’s re-election campaign headquarters, promising to help with the campaigns for Ma and legislative candidates ahead of January’s elections.
“As a KMT member and a voter who is concerned about the economy, [I believe] President Ma’s re-election will have a positive impact on Taiwan’s interests,” he said.
Photo: CNA
Sean Lien was shot on stage while stumping for New Taipei City (新北市) Councilor Chen Hung-yuan (陳鴻源) on the eve of the special municipality elections in November last year.
He had been absent from political activities until his appearance at a campaign event for KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) in Taipei last week.
Lien Chan has expressed concern about his son’s participation in campaign activities, and said he was reluctant to see his son on the campaign stage again.
In response, Sean Lien said he would avoid campaigning for candidates on stage or canvassing the streets, but would assist their campaigns in various ways.
Ma yesterday thanked Sean Lien for his public endorsement, when they met at the KMT’s Central Committee meeting, as the president urged party unity ahead of the presidential and legislative elections.
Ma yesterday also campaigned in New Taipei City (新北市), launching a campaign headquarters in Banciao (板橋) and visiting Dharma Master Cheng Yen (證嚴法師), founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation.
At the launch of the campaign headquarters in Banciao, Ma once again denied meeting with bookie Chen Ying-chu (陳盈助) during a campaign visit to Chiayi in September, and said Chinese-language Next Magazine and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had fabricated the incident and were spreading rumors.
Allegations of a meeting between Ma and Chen were made on Wednesday when a Next Magazine article said Ma had held a private meeting with Chen in which he asked for a donation of NT$300 million (US$9.9 million).
“This thing is a fabrication and nonsense, but the DPP seized the chance to launch a smear campaign against me,” Ma said.
He said he had decided not to file a lawsuit against the magazine out of respect for journalistic freedom, and urged DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to discourage party members and campaign spokespeople from making groundless accusations.
“The foreign press described Tsai as a Robin Hood-like heroine, but to my understanding, Robin Hood should fight for justice, rather than spreading rumors and setting up decent people,” 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
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
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