Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday shrugged off a media report alleging that he plans to resign as mayor of New Taipei City next week so that he can replace Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as the party’s presidential candidate.
At a public event in New Taipei City yesterday afternoon, Chu refused to comment on “nonsense and groundless rumors.”
When asked whether he would honor his pledge to serve out his mayoral term, Chu said that he would try his best to fulfill his duties as a mayor every day.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
The media storm was ignited by an article published yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper), which cited anonymous sources as saying that Chu has reached an agreement with the Presidential Office to run for president in Hung’s stead.
The article alleged that Chu had decided to take over the responsibility in an effort to rescue his own career and the fortunes of the KMT from the impact of a potential drubbing in next year’s polls. If he were to throw his hat into the ring, it would directly contradict his oft-repeated promises to serve out the full term of his mayorship and to back Hung’s candidacy.
Chu is likely to announce his plan next week, the report said, as it would mean the by-election for New Taipei City could be combined with the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, which could boost the KMT’s effort to maintain control of the special municipality.
The law requires that mayoral by-elections be held within three months of the resignation of the incumbent.
On Sunday, KMT Central Standing Committee member Chiang Shuo-ping (江碩平) also demanded a provisional party congress be held — likely at a routine meeting of the committee tomorrow — to assess whether Hung should be replaced.
Asked about Chiang’s requests, Chu yesterday said that opinions in the party have been divided recently and he has urged party members to speak their minds and freely exchange opinions.
“Only through deliberation and the exchange of opinions can true unity be forged among party members... in the face of difficulties stemming from next year’s elections,” Chu said.
Chu said he welcomed face-to-face communication and the submission of a diversity of ideas at committee meetings.
Later yesteday, a KMT official who declined to be named confirmed that Chu has twice urged Hung to quit the race because her chance of winning the election is too small.
Meanwhile, Hung’s supporters have taken to Facebook to vent their discontent over Chiang’s plan to oust the deputy legislative speaker as the KMT’s presidential candidate.
Hundreds of Facebook users have threatened to converge on KMT headquarters tomorrow in a show of support for Hung.
About 1,000 netizens have also signed an online petition urging pro-KMT supporters to abstain from voting in the legislative election if Hung is forced to drop out of the presidential race.
“Not wanting to vote for the Democratic Progressive Party does not necessarily mean we would vote for the KMT,” the petition’s initiators said.
“Do you [the KMT] really think that abandoning Hung would only get you a few days of criticism and that her supporters would still vote for the party with a sour taste in their mouths? Only in your dreams,” they said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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