Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday shrugged off netizens mocking him over a story he told during Sunday’s televised debate about an elderly woman who prompted him to run for the presidency.
“I would like to thank everyone for their concern. I met an elderly woman during a visit to a local temple. Not only her, but many others have also encouraged me to take care of Taiwan, which is why I will do my best to work for the nation,” Chu said.
Chu made the remarks during a visit to Taitung County, in response to media queries on the growing public curiosity about the identity of the woman who Chu said he met during a trip to New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水).
Chu on Sunday said that the woman told him “the gods will not forgive you if you do not run for president,” when Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) questioned his integrity, citing his promise to serve out his term as New Taipei City mayor and not vie for the top office.
Chu’s comments quickly triggered an outpouring of ridicule on the Internet, with netizens saying that they doubt the existence of the woman.
One netizen said that that they were amazed by Chu’s willingness to abandon the entire population of New Taipei City for a single person, in a message they posted on the Professional Technology Temple (PTT), the nation’s largest academic online bulletin board.
“Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) would have never imagined it was an elderly lady that prompted the rescission of her nomination as the KMT’s presidential candidate,” one netizen said.
A Facebook page titled “Tamsui Grandma” was set up on Sunday afternoon, featuring a logo with the slogan, “One Grandma: Grandma is Strength” — a modification of Chu’s campaign slogan: “One Taiwan: Taiwan is Strength.”
The page had attracted nearly 12,000 followers as of press time yesterday.
A Facebook page, called “Taiwan Fugue,” launched a “self-help sticker campaign” providing elderly women who worry about being mistaken as the reason behind Chu’s candidacy with stickers reading: “I did not ask Eric Chu to run for president.”
A cartoonist, who goes by the pseudonym Tsai Chao (菜朝), published a cartoon on Facebook yesterday featuring himself trying to persuade his wife to listen to him and wash their children’s clothes by telling her the order came from “Tamsui Grandma,” only to be punched in the face by his wife.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
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