Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday brushed off a rumor that she demanded NT$500 million (US$15.3 million) from party headquarters in exchange for withdrawing from the race.
When asked about the NT$500 million rumor, which Hung herself brought up at a KMT rally on Monday night, the deputy legislative speaker said: “[I brought it up] because there are people who keep spreading similar rumors about tradeoffs.”
Hung on Monday rebuked as a joke a rumor that she asked for NT$500 million in exchange for her withdrawal, calling it a serious offense and an insult to her integrity.
“Am I only worth NT$500 million? It is way too little,” Hung said
She asked KMT legislator-at-large Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍), who was also at the event, to put a price on her, and answered her own question by saying: “Priceless.”
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday laughed off the question, saying one should know “it is impossible,” adding that he had never heard of the rumor until reporters brought it up.
Local media outlets are now looking for the source of the rumor.
Hung’s campaign office said it was from a circle of legislators’ assistants, but could not specify a source.
It stressed that the revelation was not aimed at the party nor KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), but at the person who disseminated the rumor.
The Chinese-language United Evening News quoted an anonymous KMT official as saying that the party would not do such a thing and that party headquarters is “also puzzled how such a rumor spread.”
“It is understandable that there would be [negative] emotions [among party members], but it would be going overboard when you try to [ratchet up the pressure] with money issues,” the party official said.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
RSS