Former Chiayi mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) yesterday announced her bid to run in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) primary for the city mayorship in the upcoming nine-in-one local elections.
Huang, who served as the city’s mayor for two terms from 2005 to 2014, made the announcement during a morning party in the city.
“Many good friends have told me that they wanted to see Chiayi return to its former glory,” Huang said on the sidelines of the event.
Photo: CNA
“I have decided to join their efforts by throwing my hat in the ring,” she added.
Having invested significant time and effort in listening to those at the grassroots level, Huang said she has the best grasp of people’s opinions and needs.
However, as a KMT member, Huang said she would respect the party leadership’s final decision.
Huang became the first woman in the KMT to take over the party’s helm in January 2016, when she was appointed interim party chairwoman after then-KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) stepped down to take political responsibility for the KMT’s disastrous defeat in the presidential and legislative elections that year.
Huang only headed the party for two months before yielding the position to former deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) in March 2016, after losing to her in a party leadership by-election.
Interest in joining the KMT primary for the Chiayi mayoral post has also been expressed by two others: Chiayi City Council Speaker Hsiao Shu-li (蕭淑麗) and Jack Lee (李允傑), former minister of the now-defunct National Youth Commission.
The Chiayi position is currently held by Mayor Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), a doctor-turned-politician and member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who defeated KMT candidate Chen Yi-chen (陳以真) by only 8,590 votes in the 2014 local elections.
During yesterday’s event, KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said all three aspirants were talented and capable politicians.
“The KMT will choose Chiayi residents’ most preferred candidate through public opinion polls and a fair, just and open mechanism,” Wu said, expressing the hope that a KMT victory in the upcoming Chiayi mayoral election could pave the way for the party’s return to power in 2020.
The nine-in-one elections are scheduled for Nov. 24, when voters are to choose the mayors and city councilors of the six special municipalities, mayors and councilors in other cities, Aboriginal district representatives and councilors, county commissioners and councilors, township mayors and councilors, and borough and village wardens.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to prevent the DPP from losing Chiayi, the party’s headquarters is strongly promoting Twu, touting his political achievements to gain the support of county residents.
However, a source within the party said that an inability to “bring people together” is still Twu’s greatest challenge.
Additional reporting by Su Fang-ho
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS