Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday announced his bid for the KMT chairmanship, saying he would endeavor to close the gap between the party and the people if elected.
“The disastrous defeat of the KMT in two elections in a row has unnerved its supporters. Many younger KMT members have proposed reform plans in the hopes of rebuilding and bettering the party,” Hau told an impromptu news conference in Taipei yesterday evening.
Hau said following the KMT’s loss in the 2014 nine-in-one elections, he had worked to rebuild the party’s brand and cultivate young talent in his capacity as the vice chairman — a position he held from April 2014 until Saturday, when he stepped down after failing to secure a legislative seat in Keelung.
Photo: CNA
Nevertheless, voters used their ballots to tell the KMT that the scope of its reforms were not extensive, efficient and good enough, Hau said, adding that the gap between the KMT leadership and its local branches also contributed to the party’s defeat.
“Other reasons include the KMT’s failure to be in sync with people’s needs and volatile social trends. From 7.65 million votes in the 2008 presidential race to 3.81 million votes last weekend, the party has lost more than 3 million votes in the past few weeks,” the former Taipei Mayor said.
“We must act fast to regain those ‘vanishing votes’ before they are gone forever,” he said.
Asked whether he regarded himself as a better fit for the party’s chairmanship than Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who entered the by-election for the KMT leadership on Wednesday, Hau said they sought different paths for the party in terms of cross-strait ties, without elaborating.
Hau said he only publicly endorsed Hung she was later replaced by former KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) as the KMT’s presidential candidate in October last year out of respect for the party’s democratic primary mechanism.
With regard to Vice President Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) reported interest in entering the by-election, Hau said Wu had a better grasp of Taiwan’s local conditions, particularly in central and southern parts of the nation.
“If Vice President Wu is able to convince me that the path he envisions for the KMT is better than mine, then I am willing to give him my support in the March 26 election,” Hau said.
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