Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said his bid for KMT chairperson would gain support from local and waishengren (外省人) factions, allowing him to unite the party, as he is less inclined to take part in politicking.
Waishengren refers to people who fled to Taiwan with the KMT in 1949 after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War.
He had intended to step down as vice party chairman to run in the May 20 race, but was convinced by fellow KMT Vice Chairman Jason Hu (胡志強) not to, Hau said in a radio interview, adding that part of his bid is to show that candidates could run for party chairperson and maintain cordial relations with other KMT members.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
The campaign has just started and everything is up in the air, Hau said, adding that should he find his bid failing, he would resign as vice chairman.
Hau said his campaign would be better than his rivals’.
KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) “should fare worse than I” in the campaign, Hau said, adding that Hung could improve her party administration capabilities.
He said that former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) had party administration experience, as well as governmental administrative experience, but the 68-year-old’s age was not in his favor and he lacked support from the Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) military veterans’ branch.
The Huang Fu-hsing is the party’s only special branch. Established in 1956 according to an initiative by then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) to protect the interests of veterans and to ensure that retired military personnel supported KMT policies, the branch holds considerable influence within the KMT.
Hau, the son of former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), said that he has a deep connection with the Huang Fu-hsing branch and its members accepted him.
Hau said he had the support of KMT members from central and southern Taiwan after interacting with them over a referendum to maintain an import ban on food from five Japanese prefectures.
He would not run for president in 2020 if his chairperson bid is successful, Hau said, adding that he would ask Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) to be the party’s presidential candidate in such a scenario.
A party chairperson should help presidential candidates, so staking a claim to represent the party in the 2020 race would not be conducive to party solidarity and would interfere with the chairperson’s role, Hau said.
Hau said that Gou had the best chance of being elected president in 2020.
At an event in Yilan County later yesterday, Hau said his assessment was based on pan-blue support for Gou over other party members.
The most important job for a party chairperson is to be impartial and to nominate the best candidate to run for president, Hau said.
The party will focus on winning local government elections next year and from there select the best candidate for the presidential race, he said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS