Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said he still plans to run for president, adding that he would neither quit the KMT nor run as vice president.
Wang made the remarks during an interview with UFO Radio talk show host Yin Nai-jing (尹乃菁).
When asked whether he would support Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) in the KMT’s presidential primary, Wang said: “I will run [for president] to the end, although it is difficult to explain how I will do that.”
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
His plan is to continue interacting with society and networking, he said, adding that all the support and resources he has gathered would be used to help the party in next year’s election.
When asked for more details about how he would run for president after forgoing the KMT primary, Wang said there are still five months until candidates need to register for the election.
“Who knows what will happen before then,” he said.
He needs to prepare himself in case the party needs his help further down the road, he said, adding that he would not leave the KMT.
Asked if he would consider running as a vice president, he said he would not.
However, Wang said he would support Gou if he won the primary, but had no comment on whether he would be willing to run as his vice president.
Gou has asked him questions related to that issue, he said, adding that the Hon Hai boss has met with him three times and could visit again.
Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), a former commissioner of what was Taipei county at the time and another KMT hopeful, also met with him last week, Wang said, adding that he welcomes anyone who wants to exchange opinions.
Asked about Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) visit yesterday to the Legislative Yuan, Wang said that Han’s main interest was controlling dengue fever in Kaohsiung.
He advised Han to apply for a second reserve fund from the Executive Yuan to cover disease-control measures, Wang said, adding that they did not speak about election issues.
Asked whether he felt Han did not repay him for helping organize rallies in Kaohsiung before the mayoral election last year, Wang said that people should not dwell on how much they have helped others, but rather focus on how much others have done for them.
“It would of course be best if [Han] could secure Kaohsiung, because that would help the KMT win the presidential election,” Wang said
With Han running for president, there is of course some uncertainty, he added.
As Han has already entered the primary, he should work to deliver policy results and ensure stability in Kaohsiung, so that city residents could better deal with his possible departure, Wang said.
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