Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday challenged Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to a TV debate, and urged Tsai to respond to difficult issues — especially those related to cross-strait ties.
Hung made the comments during a visit to an urban renewal project in New Taipei City alongside New Taipei City Mayor and KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫).
In response to media queries over whether she would feel confident about taking on Tsai in a public debate, Hung said that every candidate should take the opportunity to discuss their ideas.
“Things can be sorted out by debate, and people can then make their decisions accordingly,” she said.
It is said that Sanlih Television has secured the consent of Hung and People First Party presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) to appear in a televised debate, but is still waiting for the agreement of Tsai.
Hung said she has not just consented to appearing in a debate with Tsai, but would welcome the opportunity, adding that she cannot understand “why Tsai has been dodging it.”
Tsai has been reluctant to appear in a debate because she “does not have a policy direction, which makes it difficult for her to hold her own in a debate,” Hung claimed.
Hung said the most pressing issue on any debate between the two would be cross-strait ties.
“While there are many issues on public welfare that could be discussed, the presidential candidates basically have similar views on public welfare,” Hung said. “But the cross-strait policy is about the nation’s future direction, which is extremely important.”
Asked whether the KMT planned to hold major campaign rallies — as the DPP has been doing for Tsai, with the upper echelons of the KMT in attendance, Chu said what matters the most is visiting local residents.
“Going to different places in a day, and … visiting constituencies personally is actually better than holding big campaign events,” he said.
Separately yesterday, Tsai rebutted criticism from Hung that she had declined to appear on a televised debate.
“Debate is an important part of a presidential campaign, and I have been preparing for it, but the timing is more appropriate after all the candidates have registered — that is how it has always been in the past,” Tsai said.
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS