Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co general manager Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday said he had tendered his resignation, fueling speculation that he is planning to join the race for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson.
Han, a former KMT lawmaker, issued a statement urging the board to quickly call a meeting and approve his resignation.
The Chinese-language Want Weekly magazine on Tuesday reported that a raid of the firm — including Han’s office — by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last week following soaring produce prices over the past few months, compounded with Han’s belief that the KMT is “old and weak,” strengthened his resolve to campaign for KMT chairman in an effort to help the party “make a comeback.”
Han resented being accused of colluding with price gougers, saying that fruit and vegetable prices had increased across the nation — not only in Taipei — because of a series of typhoons last year, the report said.
One of his aides yesterday said Han would announce his bid today.
Han’s entry into the race would mean KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) would face an additional challenger, alongside KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), in the May election.
As Han’s term as the company’s general manager was to officially end in June, his resignation would mean that the board must soon elect a new president, which has been pending since September last year, under the Company Act (公司法).
Personnel issues at the partly government-owned company have been in limbo after the Taipei City Government’s and the Council of Agriculture’s representation on the firm’s board of standing directors was reduced to three seats out of eight in an election in October last year, resulting in directors appointed by the two agencies in November boycotting a board meeting to elect a new president.
In the statement, Han said that after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government took office last year, Council of Agriculture Minister Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻) and DPP Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) visited him to persuade him to leave his post.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) confirmed in an interview that Hung Yao-fu introduced company director Lin Chiu-hui (林秋慧), who was appointed by the city government, to him and asked Ko to nominate Lin as the company’s president, Han said, adding that resulted in a DPP smear campaign against him.
Hung Yao-fu rejected the allegation, calling it a “red herring.”
He said that he never recommended any candidate for company president to Ko.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS