After keeping the public guessing for two months, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday formally accepted the pan-blue alliance's invitation to head its presidential campaign.
"Due to my responsibility for the people, the party and the nation, I've decided to accept the post," said Wang following a visit to his house in Luchu (路竹), Kaohsiung, by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
A large group of pan-blue legislators and the alliance's regional campaign managers, including Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味) and Taipei County council speaker Hsu Tsai-en (許再恩), also made the trip to Luchu.
"Wang's addition to the alliance's campaign team is a boost that surpasses the large number of mounted and foot soldiers' (千軍萬馬)," Lien said, using a Chinese idiom meaning a powerful army to illustrate his confidence in Wang.
Wang said that he firmly supported Soong and Lien's presidential bid.
"From this moment on, I will follow the two chairmen and dive headfirst into the campaign war," said Wang.
Wang also serves as one of the KMT's vice chairmen.
Wang, a Kaohsiung County native, is regarded by many pan-blue supporters as the key representative of the KMT's pro-localization faction.
Commenting on his initial reluctance to take the job, Wang said he was eventually persuaded by the backing of fellow members and the sincerity expressed by Lien and Soong.
Pan-blue legislators said Wang's acceptence of the position was a big boost to the alliance's electoral outlook.
Noting that Wang enjoyed a lot of public support in central and southern Taiwan, KMT legislative leader Lee Chia-chin (
Last night the alliance staged a massive campaign rally in Kaohsiung County's Fongshan Stadium where Wang announced to the crowd his acceptance of the campaign-director post.
Meanwhile, Lien said he wanted to deliver two warnings: one to Beijing and one to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
"I want to warn China to respect Taiwan domestic's choice and not to intervene in the Republic of China's election," Lien told supporters at the rally.
In the run up to the 2000 presidential election, threatening rhetoric from China's then premier Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基) helped Chen's popularity.
"My second warning is to Chen, to not to rely on Beijing to get elected," Lien said, accusing Chen of provoking Beijing with talk of independence.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS