Following a week-long guessing game, independent presidential candidate James Soong (
Speaking at a packed press conference, Soong highly commended Chang for his spirit of caring about Taiwanese society, as well as his medical expertise, outstanding management skills and a macroscopic perspective in scientific circles.
"The question of political party affiliation was the only question I have never asked Chang," Soong said, stressing the non-partisan consultation process for his choice.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Soong admitted he had already begun to search for an appropriate running-mate sometime between May and June.
"A suitable candidate must match expectations of my political ideas respecting team-work consciousness," Soong said.
Nevertheless, he said, his ideas have had to confront a backlash with reality, due to electoral considerations of winning the presidential race.
"I have had to take regional, party and ethnic background into account," Soong said.
Chang is a specialist in cardiac surgery, a native Kaohsiung City resident and a son-in law of former Tainan City Mayor Hsin Wen-ping (辛?戭? -- who was campaign manager for Lee Teng-hui (
When asked if he could draw on his surgical skills in politics, Chang replied: "I believe that under an environment of teamwork, I can come up to speed quickly. After the presidential voting next March 18, there should be no doubts anymore as to my ability."
Citing the words of Formosa Plastics Group chairman Wang Yung-ching (
Chang said he had personally delivered his decision to Wang Wednesday night. "Wang was apparently astonished by my move -- he kept silent for several moments, and then advised me to be prepared to make sacrifices for the island."
His comments, however, produced stern denials from officials at Formosa Plastics.
FPG general manager Wang Yung-tsai (?y揖牘b), -- Wang Yung-ching's brother -- said yesterday his brother "was very unhappy about Chang's announcement. Our company has never gotten involved in politics, and if Chang is determined to take part in the impending presidential campaign, he has no other alternative but to resign his post at Chang Gung immediately."
Meanwhile, Vice President Lien Chan(
"In democracies, it is normal for a presidential candidate to choose his running-mate -- it is not worth any particular attention," said Lien Chan's spokesman, Ting Yuan-chao (
Critics, meanwhile, said compared with the other two tickets -- the KMT's Lien-Siew pairing and DPP's pairing of Chen Shui-bian (
Julian Kuo (3?翰G), a political strategist from Soochow University, said Chang's academic background and the fact he is a native Taiwanese could offset Soong's weakness in being mainland-born.
"The Soong-Chang ticket has complementary aspects, such as a symbolic balancing between northern and southern Taiwan and more significantly, a middle ground between native Taiwanese and mainland-born Chinese," Kuo said.
"Such a veiled, unstated demonstration of approval by the Wang family over Chang's cooperation with Soong, means that the native Wang family -- who had earlier pledged to support Lien Chan -- has attempted to back both sides of the presidential race; perhaps other conglomerates may follow in Wang's path," Kuo said.
"If that happens, it would have great negative impact on Lien's campaign," said Kuo, referring to the solid conglomerate support Lien now enjoys.
Kuo said there is another trump card in Soong's hand to defend against a possible attack over his mainlander identity.
"If Soong can preserve his popularity at the number one spot in the presidential race sometime around next January, then Soong could possibly declare the current senior advisor to Presidential Office Wu Poh-hsiung (
"In this way, Soong could justifiably claim he has already made a government crossing both partisan and ethnic boundaries."
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
MATAIAN RIVER: Rescue operations were ongoing, with officials urging residents to move to higher floors where possible as teams focus first on those at ground level Floodwaters from the overflowing Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake swept into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) yesterday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people trapped and three missing as of press time last night, the Hualien County Fire Bureau said. The waters surged into downtown Guangfu after the riverbank burst at about 2:50pm, carrying mud and debris and submerging streets to rooftop level in some areas. Residents were seen climbing onto vehicles and rooftops to await rescue as thick, silt-laden water inundated the town. The surge destroyed the Mataian Bridge (馬太鞍溪橋) and flooded the Guangfu Railway Station. Rescue operations were launched with support from fire departments
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km