Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman and party chair hopeful Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said that he will recruit former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) spokeswoman Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) as his campaign spokesperson, sparking rumors that Ma is supporting Hau’s bid in the five-way chairmanship election
Hau’s office yesterday said Hau has requested permission from Ma’s office to enlist Hsu’s services during the KMT chairmanship campaign, adding that Hsu is to work for Hau’s campaign on a part-time basis until the election is over.
Hau yesterday said that he has known Hsu for a long time, adding that he feels the KMT needs a young and talented member like Hsu to show the public that the party has changed.
Photo: Chu Pei-der, Taipei Times
Ma’s office yesterday said that he is not supporting any candidate, adding that permission was granted in the hope that talented party members use any opportunity to hone their skills.
“I hope that all candidates will put the party ahead of their personal interests. Only in this way can we win back the hearts of the public,” Ma said.
Meanwhile, former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who is also running for KMT chairman, yesterday responded to concerns that Ma could influence the election through him, saying that it is normal for people within the party to have worked with Ma.
Wu said that many people who worked for him during his terms as party secretary-general and vice president had previously worked with Ma.
KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who is running for re-election, said she does not believe Ma has thrown his support behind Hau’s chairmanship bid.
Hung said Hau was just taking the opportunity to work with a talented spokeswoman, adding that she regrets not recruiting Hsu for her campaign.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai