Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday clarified comments from a day earlier about his participation in the presidential election.
Wang, who is seeking the party’s presidential nomination along with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), made the remarks on the sidelines of a forum at the Armed Forces Officers’ Club in Taipei.
Wang on Saturday dismissed a rumor that he could run as vice president with Gou, saying he would seek to be president “until the very end.”
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Asked yesterday if he meant the end of the presidential election in January next year, Wang said: “Yes, of course.”
He was not aware of rumors that he would run as vice president with Gou, Wang said, adding that such reports are “completely baseless.”
Asked if he would consider holding campaign rallies — as Han plans to do on Saturday — Wang said that he would stick with his current approach.
Supporters are establishing groups across the nation and he does not feel any pressure to compete with Han, Wang said.
Separately, Gou said that he had not discussed a combined bid with Wang.
“We cooperate strategically and share the same goal of helping the KMT and the Republic of China [ROC] win,” Gou told reporters in Chiayi County.
We are good friends and are like brothers hiking up a mountain: Each must spend his own energy to reach the summit, Gou said.
Meanwhile, Han on Saturday said that he had accepted an invitation from supporters to attend a rally on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei.
The rally on Saturday is being organized by dozens of groups of supporters, who are anxious about the future of the ROC, Han said.
His supporters believe that next year’s presidential election could make the difference between life and death for the ROC, he said.
He is grateful that they took the initiative to organize the rally and is moved by their passion and determination to safeguard the ROC, he said.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open