New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said he would explain why he is not running for president after the period for aspirants to sign up ends on May 16.
In response to questions from reporters on Friday, Chu declared his absence from the presidential election scheduled for Jan. 16 next year. However, some KMT party members who have called for his nomination appear to be unwilling to give up hope, saying that Chu’s remarks on Friday did not constitute a formal announcement.
Chu said that he would give a clear account of his position on the presidential election after May 16.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“You do not need to ask me the same questions, do you?” Chu said in response to media queries upon arriving at the headquarters of the Republic of China Women’s Association to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the KMT-affiliated organization. “There is no need to repeat what has already been said.”
Chu again urged KMT members who wish to serve the nation to make their bid public as soon as possible to show that the KMT is committed to a successful presidential campaign.
“As party chairman, I sincerely hope the KMT field the best and most suitable presidential candidate, and that all party members unite in support of the candidate to provide Taiwan and the Republic of China a better future,” Chu said.
According to the KMT’s nomination rules, presidential aspirants are required to collect signatures from at least 5 percent of the party’s 300,000 members to endorse their candidacy during the 27-day registration period from tomorrow to May 16, and to pay a NT$2 million (US$64,181) refundable deposit and NT$7 million to subsidize the primary.
In response to a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday quoting an unnamed KMT source as reporting that the party could order Chu to represent the party in the election if no one else registers as a candidate before May 16, Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said: “How could it be possible?”
“I have said I would take part in the primary, have I not?” Hung said, adding that she has NT$2 million ready and would pick up an application form tomorrow.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS