Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said that he has not talked to People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) for more than a year, in response to rumors that the two are planning to pair up for January’s presidential election.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) cited an anonymous source alleging that Wang and Soong have been conversing “on a hotline” about potential collaboration for the next year’s presidential election, with Wang as the presidential candidate and Soong as his running mate.
Wang, a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), dismissed the report yesterday, calling it “someone’s unrealistic imagination.”
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“I have not talked to Chairman Soong face-to-face or over the phone for at least a year,” Wang said.
PFP spokesman Clarence Wu (吳崑玉) also denied there are ongoing talks between the two, saying that similar rumors have been flying around for months, but that none of them are true.
He asked the media not to “take advantage of Wang,” saying that the PFP would respect Wang’s decision on his next move.
Regarding the meeting said to be planned between Soong and KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), Wu said that because the secretary-generals of the two parties are longtime acquaintances, it is easy for the two party leaders to meet up.
However, Wu said that because a meeting between the two would be criticized as “negotiations behind closed doors” if undertaken otherwise, the PFP has requested the meeting to be open to the public.
However, the KMT has not agreed to that, leaving the matter in limbo, Wu said.
Chu yesterday said that there would be no public Chu-Soong meeting, as he had already made clear, but he would keep discussing various issues with Soong.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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