Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday made a surprise appearance at a public event also attended by KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), fueling the speculation that there is friction between the two over the party chairmanship election.
Hau, 64, the son of former premier and army general Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), on Saturday announced on Facebook that he will run in the chairmanship election on May 20.
Hau’s office yesterday announced that he would attend an event hosted by the Blue Creek Society the same day, while the KMT Cultural and Communications Committee said Hung had no scheduled public appearances for the day.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
However, Hung arrived ahead of the event while Hau was speaking with reporters.
It was the second time in less than a month that Hung showed up unannounced at a public event attended by Hau. Hau was hosting a news conference on Dec. 21 last year on the government’s plan to lift a ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures, when Hung showed up unannounced.
The society is founded by veterans and has strong ties with the KMT’s Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興)comprised of veterans and their relatives.
Meanwhile, Hau yesterday said that if he is elected KMT chairman he will not run for president or any other position.
The party leader should lead the fight for “the KMT’s survival,” instead of having everyone fight for “their next position,” Hau wrote in a separate Facebook post yesterday.
“Only by promising not to use the chairmanship as a springboard to the next position can a leader be trusted to be selfless within the party,” he said.
In Saturday’s Facebook post, Hau said that the party, with “glorious days in the past century,” suffered a drubbing in the 2014 nine-in-one elections as well as last year’s presidential and legislative elections, which made him engage in soul-searching about the party’s fate.
He said that over the past two years, he has been hoping and waiting for a party leader to galvanize the disintegrating party, a leader who would make “selflessness” and “devotion” their mission and put the interests of the nation and the party above their own considerations.
Hau said he admired Hung for leading the party during its most difficult time, but added that he has also seen the party “on a downhill course.”
“I began to think, rather than wait, it is better to rise up and take action,” he said.
Former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) on Friday said that many party members have high expectations of him and have encouraged him “to take on responsibility at this difficult time for the KMT.”
If Wu decides to run, it will likely be a three-way election given that Hung has already announced that she will seek re-election.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
RSS