Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday rejected former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) proposal that they meet in public tomorrow to discuss the party’s presidential primary between the two tomorrow.
Wu said that the meeting would touch upon issues that should not be made public.
Wu made the remarks on the sidelines of an event in Taipei in response to media queries after Chu — who has announced he would seek the party’s nomination for next year’s presidential race — on Thursday called for a public meeting.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“There are not going to be any secrets, but it is inevitable that we might discuss the advantages of presidential hopefuls and areas they might need to pay particular attention to. These cannot be made public,” Wu said.
The arrangement is for Wu and Chu to exchange opinions and then they can face the media, Wu said, adding that planned meetings with Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), a former commissioner of what was then Taipei County who has also announced a presidential bid, and Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who has been touted as a candidate, but has not entered the race, would be carried out in a similar manner.
“There will be no exceptions,” he said.
Wu is to meet with KMT Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who is also seeking the KMT nomination, on Monday and Chou on Tuesday.
He was to meet with Han yesterday in a perceived attempt to persuade him to join the primary, but the meeting has been postponed by Han’s office and is likely to be held after the mayor’s return from a visit to the US this month.
KMT deputy spokeswoman Hung Yu-chien (洪于茜) yesterday said that the meetings are designed to allow Wu to exchange opinions with potential candidates on the party’s presidential primary and learn about their views.
KMT Vice Chairmen Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) and former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) are to be part of the Wu-Chu meeting, Hung said, adding that the KMT Culture and Communications Committee would hold a news conference afterward.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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