Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) campaign team yesterday said that Hung would return to her normal schedule today, ending the “temporary break from daily campaign activities” she announced late on Wednesday night.
Hung’s spokesperson on Thursday said that Hung would resurface on Wednesday next week “at the latest” for a campaign activity scheduled to be hosted by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫).
However, just three days after Hung’s unexpected announcement on Facebook sparked speculation, her office announced that she is scheduled to appear at a news conference this morning entitled “insisting on walking the right path,” and that she is also scheduled to attend at least three other events today.
In her second diary-like Facebook post late on Friday night, which suggested she was in a temple, Hung said Taiwan has long been trapped in populist politics and that politicians have aimed to win the popular vote by fair means or foul.
“We talk about freedom, but overlook discipline; we speak freely about democracy, but forget about what is right and wrong. I have visited many places in these past days and there are too many silent crowds, who do not say much, but I can feel their anxiety about Taiwan’s future from how they grip my hands and look at me with warm sincerity,” she wrote. “But do I have the power to speak for them?”
Hung, as in Thursday’s diary-like post, said she had sought help from “looking at a bodhisattva [statue] with a face of benevolence” and gained “certain enlightenment.”
“Read [the sutras], pray to a bodhisattva, but also be a bodhisattva,” Hung said. “In the face of Taiwan’s populism and hypocrisy, maybe I should also be a Vajrapani [warrior-attendant to the Bhudda] that safeguards virtuous values.”
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) of the Democratic Progressive Party, who also halted presidential candidate campaign events in 2008 when he injured his leg, said it is Hung’s right to choose to go into “seclusion.”
“However, gods and buddhas might be shocked, as bodhisattvas do not participate in elections,” he said.
Even KMT spokesperson Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) mocked the post, saying, without specifically referring to Hung, “[are we going to have] a union of religion and state now?”
“Amida Buddha,” he added, referring to a Buddhist mantra.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS