Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said she would “rather die than withdraw” from the election, adding that support would start “pouring in” after she completes her official registration as a candidate.
Hung said on a radio show that talk of replacing her as the party’s candidate is an electoral scheme to destroy her and her supporters’ confidence.
“It is for this reason that I will have to be even more resolute in continuing my campaign,” she said.
Reiterating her determination, Hung said she believes that supporters will arrive “like tsunami against the mountains” from the day she completes her registration.
When asked by the radio host whether she could stifle rumors that she is to be replaced by her yet-to-be-revealed running mate, Hung said she is not in a rush to announce a vice-presidential candidate, and even her opponent, Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), “who has been preparing [for the campaign] for six or seven years,” is not ready to announce a deputy.
“[Tsai] has had an easy time. Why has she not been pressed on this question?” Hung asked.
Hung said she has had no major difficulties in considering possibilities for a deputy, and where there were issues, “they might be due to incompatible ideals, a fear of getting involved in a fierce battle or having a pessimistic view of [her] campaign.”
“It is true that it is important to factor region, ethnicity and gender into consideration when choosing a running mate, but they are not necessary. The two sine qua nons are congeniality of ideas and righteousness,” she said.
Hung said she would be glad if KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) chose to be her running mate.
However, “Chu has his own considerations,” she said, adding that there are no ill feelings between them.
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A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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