People First Party (PFP) presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday expressed confidence in his ability to win votes in Miaoli County after he was greeted by several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative candidates during his visit to a former commissioner of the traditional KMT stronghold.
Soong paid a visit to former county commissioner Fu Hsueh-peng (傅學鵬), a local heavyweight with a strong grassroots political network, at Fu’s home in Gongguan Township (公館) yesterday morning, which was packed with hundreds of Soong’s supporters and KMT members.
Miaoli County Council deputy speaker Chen Ming-chao (陳明朝) of the KMT, KMT legislative candidate Hsu Chih-jung (徐志榮) and Chiu Li-li (邱俐俐), executive officer to KMT Legislator Chen Chao-ming (陳超明), were among the crowd.
Fu praised Soong for his leadership and execution capability during his term as Taiwan’s provincial governor, urging voters to rise above political affiliations in next year’s presidential race and support someone with the ability to actually govern.
“Apparently, I flipped Miaoli. Many [KMT] local heavyweights have chosen to come out to support me,” Soong said, before singing Hakka folk songs.
Soong said he plans to put individuals of Hakka origin in significant positions in the coalition government he promised to establish if elected for the top office and vowed to reinvigorate the Hakka spirit and culture.
Soong later visited former vice president Li Yuan-zu (李元簇) of the KMT, who also openly threw his support behind the PFP candidate.
KMT Miaoli County executive committee director Liu Ming-jen (劉明仁) said that all of the party’s county councilors and borough wardens present were only there due to their personal ties with Fu.
Liu added that all of them informed the party in advance of their plans to attend the event.
The attendance of KMT members and pan-blue vote brokers at Soong’s campaign events over the past few weeks has reportedly unnerved the ruling party, which has interpreted Soong’s moves as an attempt to lure pan-blue political figures into his party’s fold.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) has recently repeatedly called for unity and cooperation, as several members have “jumped ship” to the PFP.
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