New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) will run for re-election in the mayoral election in November because he has no other option, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) — who is also the party’s candidate in the election — told a press conference yesterday.
“I would say [the possibility of Chu running for re-election is] 100 percent. It’s my assessment though — you don’t have to believe me, but time will tell,” Lin said, adding that he had full confidence that he could beat Chu by more than 100,000 votes in the election.
Chu has yet to declare whether he would be running for re-election, fueling speculation that he might decide against doing so and focus on vying for the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) nomination for the presidential race in 2016.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
Lin also accused Chu of hushing up his share in a company owned by his father-in-law, Kao Yu-jen (高育仁), worth approximately NT$2 million, on his civil servant’s property declaration in 2010 when he served as vice premier.
Citing information in the annual report of Tai Tung Communication Co, Lin said Chu held 1.05 percent of the company’s shares.
The company, which the Kao family invested in in 2000, had won 160 government bids over the past 14 years, including 47 bids between 2000 and 2001, when Chu was a legislator, on 56 tenders — a 83 percent winning rate, Lin added.
“Chu should offer an explanation, as this is a potential corruption case that involves his integrity,” Lin said.
Chien Sheng-che (簡聖哲), a TSU candidate in the Taipei City council elections, said Chu could have violated the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflicts of Interest (公務人員利益衝突迴避法), which prohibits public servants or their families from securing government bids.
According to Chien, Chu had declared the 7.89 percent shareholding of his wife, Kao Wan-chien (高婉倩), in his report in 2010, but left out his own investment in the report.
In response, Chu said yesterday morning before the TSU press conference that the allegation was groundless and was only a campaign activity to boost Lin’s profile.
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
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
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