Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of launching a series of malicious attacks against him, saying the public would not support negative campaign tactics.
“At last, because of my presidential nomination the DPP has started moving, from legal actions and impeachment drives to recall motions and an all-out online smear campaign,” Chu said during a visit to a KMT branch and legislative candidates in Taichung. “It seems the DPP can no longer win the January presidential election lying down.”
Chu made the remarks one day after being called in for questioning by the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office over his July 19 replacement of Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as the KMT’s presidential candidate.
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
The SID initiated a probe into the matter earlier this month after two opposition lawmakers — DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) and Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) — took legal action against Chu and KMT Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) over their alleged attempts to coax Hung into dropping out of the Jan. 16 race by offering her a quid pro quo.
“I am extremely repelled by how a political party or politicians can resort to such methods to try to interfere in next year’s presidential election, and the moves are highly detrimental to Taiwanese democracy,” Chu said after stepping out of the SID’s office on Wednesday night.
“We have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide,” he said.
Chu urged his opponents to refrain from adopting negative campaign tactics for the sake of Taiwanese democracy and future generations.
“I hope these negative attacks and politically motivated manipulations will stop with this generation,” Chu said. “As the presidential candidate of a party aiming to become the ruling party, [DPP Chairperson] Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should reflect on whether this approach has a positive influence on people.”
Dismissing news reports that he planned to invite Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Kaohsiung Branch superintendent Chen Chao-long (陳肇隆), dubbed “the father of liver transplants in Asia,” to be his running mate, Chu said he has not given any thought to the KMT’s potential vice presidential candidates.
“I will keep an open mind. The future leaders of Taiwan do not necessarily have to have a political background or fit certain criteria,” he said.
KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said he believed every step in Chu and Lee’s handling of the replacement issue was legal, while shrugging off news reports claiming Hung had recorded her meetings with the pair as evidence.
“Attempts by any parties to politically manipulate election results would set a bad example. Hopefully, Chu and Tsai can endeavor to be good role models for the nation’s electoral system and let elections be just about healthy competition, not power struggles,” Hau said.
CLEAR BEFORE LEAVING: Two baby boys and a woman in her 30s tested negative before departing for Japan, but tests taken after their arrival came back postive Three Taiwanese tested positive for COVID-19 when they arrived in Japan earlier this month, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday as it reported a new imported case. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, said that one of the three cases in Japan is a Taiwanese baby under the age of one, whose parents work in Japan. The infant came to Taiwan with his parents in January, and the parents paid for the family’s COVID-19 tests on Oct. 10 ahead of their planned return to Japan on Monday last week, he said. The boy and his
‘BACKED BY ENEMY’: CTi News is one of the few channels promoting unification, the New Party chairman said, while pro-Taiwan groups called it a propaganda outlet Pan-blue camp supporters yesterday lodged a protest at the National Communications Commission (NCC) against what they say is a possible move by the government to shut down CTi News, adding that politics should not interfere with freedom of the press. Protesters included representatives from the New Party, the Blue Sky Action Alliance, the 333 Political Party Alliance and other pan-blue groups. “We stand here today because CTi News is one of the few media outlets in Taiwan that is still willing to give groups supporting unification with China a voice. If the news channel is gone, there would only be
NEW YEAR’S EVE: Examples from South Korea and Japan show that 15 local COVID-19 infections could emerge in a short period if measures are not taken The Taipei City Government would cancel its New Year’s Eve Party and all large events if 15 or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 are reported in the city within a week, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday. Addressing the Taipei Cross Border E-Commerce Annual Convention, Ko said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought many uncertainties to society, and that e-commerce is on a path of no return and would continue to grow. Many countries have not effectively controlled their COVID-19 outbreaks, and although Taiwan implements strict border controls and there have been few inbound passengers, the pandemic is unlikely to end soon,
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused CTi News of trying to mislead the public by publishing a half-page advert claiming that the party interfered in the National Communications Commission’s (NCC) review of its application for a license renewal. CTi News is distorting the commission’s review process by painting it as a political conflict and turning it into a smear campaign against the DPP, party spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) said. “The NCC is an independent body, which carries out reviews and makes decisions based on its members’ professional expertise, as well as regulations and legal requirements governing media operations,” Yen said. “We condemn
RSS