People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and former United Communications Group chairwoman Sandra Yu (余湘) yesterday registered as the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates at the Central Election Commission in Taipei.
Soong and Yu were the first pair of presidential candidates to arrive at the commission, accompanied by campaign spokeswoman Belle Yu (于美人), PFP secretary-general Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) and Yonglin Foundation executive director Amanda Liu (劉宥彤).
Supporters cheered outside the commission’s building while Soong, 77, registered for the election, his fourth run for president since 2000.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“This is to be ‘the last mile’ of my time spent in political elections. I am grateful and confident that I can help the nation become confident and proud again with what I have learned throughout my career, including international diplomacy, cross-strait affairs, national security and local government affairs,” he said.
Soong said that he and Yu would campaign cheerfully and work together to address the economic issues facing Taiwanese, adding that he would present to the public within the next 10 days the party’s campaign platform for the Jan. 11 elections.
Asked when the party’s nominees for legislators-at-large would be announced, Soong said that the PFP is still finalizing the list, which would definitely be submitted before Friday’s deadline.
“The nominees do not necessarily have to be party members. The most important criterion is that they have to win the hearts of the public,” he said.
Asked if the list would include Liu and Yonglin Foundation deputy chief executive Evelyn Tsai (蔡沁瑜), who work for the foundation set up by former Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), Soong said that he would keep the list a secret for now, adding that the first nominee on the list would be a surprise to everyone.
He also expressed confidence in his approval rating after he ranked third in a survey released yesterday by the Chinese-language United Daily News.
The survey showed that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party was leading the three-way-race, with 45 percent support, followed by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, with 29 percent, and Soong with 8 percent.
His approval rating has climbed from less than 1 percent to 8 percent, Soong said, adding that this shows that his approval rating would rise as the campaign progresses.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of