New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday unequivocally said that he will not run for president next year.
“I won’t take part in the 2016 [presidential election], all right?” Chu said when a reporter asked him if he would deliver on the promise he has repeatedly made to complete his mayoral tenure.
Chu was again peppered with questions yesterday from reporters about whether he intended to run for president after KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) on Thursday said that Chu is “giving serious thought to running.”
Hau said Chu is duty-bound to represent the KMT in the election because he is the party chairman and the candidate with the best chance of winning.
“I have told him that he has to be mentally prepared to run,” Hau said during a radio interview.
Asked about Hau’s remarks, Chu said: “There is no such [duty].”
“I have been consistent in my stance on this — I will do a good job as mayor and complete my term. As the party’s chairman, I am like an arbitrator or a coach. I hope to see more talented people participate in the party’s primaries for both the legislative and presidential elections,” Chu said.
A reporter then asked his views on speculation that his recent decision to give up legal battles over 10 of the party’s assets, the ownership of which were disputed, was a move to smooth the difficulties he would face when running for president, Chu said the party has stuck to the path of reform.
Chu then said he would not run for president next year when a reporter pressed him on whether he would keep his promise to serve out his term as mayor.
At a separate setting, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson — and presidential candidate — Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) declined to comment on Chu’s remarks that he would not compete in the election.
Tsai said she would comment when the KMT names its candidate.
Tsai said her role at present is to listen to the public and exchange views with them as part of her preparation for the election in January next year.
Legislative Deputy Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who has announced her intention to run in the KMT primary, said that she did not think that Chu really meant to absent himself from the presidential race.
“He said what he said only because he was pressed too hard by the media,” Hung said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and CNA
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS