After announcing late on Wednesday that she was taking a break from the rigors of campaigning, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) was back on Facebook on Thursday, accusing the party of having a “defeatist” attitude.
Hung wrote in a diary-like entry, marking the date and the weather, and talked about a statue of a bodhisattva and its “tranquility and benevolence.”
“I should try to calm down; otherwise, I could not engage in thinking,” she wrote. “Yes, we want to save [those who are] suffering, but how can we do so if we do not have the benevolence and tranquility [of a bodhisattva]? ”
However, it is not easy to have peace of mind “whenever [she] thinks about the predicament that the nation is in,” she wrote.
“It is not that the public does not see the problems, [such as] the [mess] of domestic politics and the prevailing sense of defeatism within the party, but it seems that anxiety, instead of countermeasures, is what all we have. I am deeply apprehensive about this ‘frog slowly being cooked in warm water’ situation. Bodhisattva, can you bestow on me the needed wisdom to attain peace of mind?” she wrote.
Hung has seemingly turned to Facebook as a platform to express her personal thoughts starting on Wednesday, when she posted her decision to temporarily stop her daily campaign activities, stirring speculation that she was planning to give up her candidacy.
Her campaign team rejected the rumors.
According to an anonymous informant who spoke on a CtiTV news show on Thursday night, Hung made the decision to go into “seclusion” after an aide said at a campaign team meeting on Monday that she was no longer an “atypical politician.”
The aide reportedly said that Hung has lately come to “talk like a politician” and turned into a “typical KMT politician.”
The informant said the criticism compelled Hung to reflect on her actions and to seek to find herself. It is also why Hung’s Facebook page has become a more personal reflection of her own thoughts, rather than mere posts of policy announcements and post-event acknowledgements, the person said.
Asked about Hung’s comment about the party’s defeatist attitude, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that as Hung is now in “seclusion,” people can wait for a full explanation as she promised when she reappears in public.
He added that while there might be differing opinions within the party, he has always stressed the importance of the party standing firm in its beliefs and promoting solidarity.
Chu also rebuffed rumors that Hung has taken a break from campaigning to ask for more resources from party headquarters.
It is “normal” for candidates to have a temporary break for contemplation during a campaign period, he added.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old