New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said he will focus on the city’s development and declined to discuss the possibility that he might run in the 2016 presidential election.
“There’s still a lot of time until 2016. My priority is to focus on the city’s development and work with the Taipei City Government on the twin city cooperation projects [with Taipei] in order to bring more happiness for our citizens,” he said yesterday while attending an agricultural product promotion activity in Taipei.
Chu’s comments came in response to remarks made by his father-in-law, former speaker of the defunct Taiwan Provincial Assembly Kao Yu-jen (高育仁), that Chu should seek to represent the KMT in the 2016 presidential election “if the nation needs him.”
In an interview with News 98 radio on Friday, Kao criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for what he said was a lack of understanding of the legislature, and said he should take a more proactive approach to leading the nation.
When asked about Chu’s chances in the 2016 presidential election, Kao said he did not have information on his bid, but would not oppose it if he decided to run the election.
“If the nation needs him, he should not hesitate to seek the candidacy,” he said.
Chu yesterday said he was aware of his father-in-law’s comments, and would remind him to “pay more attention when commenting [on the issue].”
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who also attended the event, said the KMT will be united in seeking victory in the presidential election, but declined to confirm whether he would join the election.
“Mayor Chu and I are both focusing on the city development, and we meet regularly to discuss cooperation between the two special municipalities.
The KMT will be united in the 2016 election because only with unity can we win the election,” said Hau, also a KMT member.
Both Chu and Hau are perceived as likely KMT candidates for the presidential election.
As Ma indicated that he would not hand-pick a preferred successor, the two mayors will be competing for the presidential candidacy with another two rivals — Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺).
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese
WARFARE: The PLA aims to use space-based capabilities to enhance its force projection to make the Indo-Pacific region too costly for the US to protect, experts said China is rapidly building space capabilities to be able to launch precision strikes on Taiwan, the US and its allies, US Space Force leaders said at a recent conference in London. China is developing counterspace warfare capabilities including GPS jamming systems and anti-satellite missiles at “breathtaking speed,” said General Stephen Whiting, commander of the US Space Command. In the past six years, Beijing tripled its number of dedicated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites, while rapidly fielding dual-use satellites, Whiting said, adding that the capabilities are honed for detecting movements at sea. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might have already achieved substantial benefits