Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday expressed confidence that she would secure victory in next year’s presidential race, saying her campaign’s polls showed her support rating trailing that of her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rival Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) by only a small margin.
Hung made the remarks at an event at KMT headquarters in Taipei yesterday morning attended by several Taiwanese businesspeople based overseas who support the deputy legislative speaker.
“The media have assumed that my opponent [Tsai] could win the election lying down,” Hung said.
Photo: CNA
“Despite this, I am confident and do not believe their assumptions are necessarily aligned with reality, as internal polls conducted by my campaign team suggest the two of us are closely matched,” she said.
Hung said on the sidelines of the event that the polls indicated the support ratings of all three candidates have shown some ups and downs.
The latest poll showed Tsai just 7 percentage points ahead of her, Hung added.
Asked whether the poll results had given her confidence a boost, Hung said she did not experience any major mood swings because she “has always remained confident.”
“I am certain that each step I have taken and every effort I have made would not go unnoticed in the eyes of my supporters,” she said.
“That is why there is no need to be bothered by outside disturbances,” Hung said.
According to a survey released by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) on Thursday, Tsai held a commanding lead among the candidates with 44.75 percent support.
People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) had 13.76 percent support, while Hung was at 12.13 percent, the Liberty Times survey showed.
A Taiwan Thinktank poll on Monday last week yielded similar results, showing Tsai having 47.6 percent support, against Hung’s 16.3 percent and Soong’s 13.9 percent.
Hung said her supporters overseas were a vital source of strength who have kept her from collapsing and motivated her to keep going.
“Cross-strait relations are of great importance and I hope they can be brought to the next level based on the 1992 consensus,” Hung said.
The so-called “1992 consensus” is a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 referring to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Beijing that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
She said she does not favor rapid unification with China as the public has assumed, but is guided by the Republic of China Constitution.
Tsai said later on the sidelines of a World Taiwanese Chambers Union trade forum in Taipei that she had not seen the “internal polls” Hung referred to and that she respected her statements.
Tsai said the results mentioned by Hung were “slightly discrepant” from those shown in surveys carried out by her campaign office.
As to whether there was a hint of competition between her and Hung given that both of them met with Taiwanese businesspeople yesterday, Tsai said the event she attended was simply a platform for her to exchange opinions with overseas entrepreneurs who had returned home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
“Many of them are leaders among Taiwanese businesspeople based in Southeast Asian countries. Hopefully their support could help me get elected president,” Tsai said.
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
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
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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
RSS