Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) is poised to represent the KMT and compete against Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) in November’s mayoral election after he yesterday defeated two other candidates in the party’s primary.
According to the average results of three opinion polls released by the KMT’s Taoyuan chapter yesterday, Chen garnered a support rating of 35.68 percent, followed by Taoyuan City Councilor Lu Ming-che (魯明哲) with 33.06 percent and former KMT legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) with 31.24 percent.
Chen, who is serving a fourth term as legislator, is expected to be officially nominated by the KMT at a meeting of the party’s Central Standing Committee next week at the earliest, the party said.
Photo: Chen Yun, Taipei Times
If his nomination receives the committee’s support, Chen would be the second special municipality mayoral candidate nominated by the party after KMT Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), who secured her nomination as the party’s Taichung candidate on Wednesday last week.
In a speech delivered after the results were announced, Chen said he would do his utmost to help the KMT regain its lost support, and unite the party with the help of Yang and Lu.
“Unlike Cheng, I would not squander money if elected, and would allocate budgets precisely and accurately for my policies,” Chen said, adding that he would spend his time communicating with Taoyuan residents rather than attending ceremonies like Cheng.
Taoyuan, which was upgraded to a special municipality in December 2014, had been governed by the KMT since 2001 until Cheng defeated then-Taoyuan county commissioner John Wu (吳志揚) in the 2014 local elections.
However, Yang refused to accept results of the polls, saying they did not conform with the preliminary results her aides had gathered during the polling process.
“[The preliminary results] indicated that I was leading in two polls, but was trailing closely behind the other two aspirants in the other. How could I ended up finishing last in all three polls,” Yang said. “I do not believe the poll results.”
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said the primary was conducted in a fair, just and open manner, adding that none of the candidates raised any concerns during the primary.
“Regarding the accusation made by one of the aspirants, it will be dealt with by the Taoyuan chapter, but it will not change the results of the primary,” Hung said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS