Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday urged his supporters to cling to their faith and cast their party votes for the KMT, amid growing competition from other pan-blue parties.
Chu made the remarks when canvassing for votes in Changhua County yesterday morning, in response to reporters’ inquiries on how he planned to respond to growing calls for KMT supporters to give their party vote to the New Party.
“Such a practice is bound to spark huge controversy, which I believe could be avoided if everyone just supports Eric Chu,” Chu said.
Photo: Olivia Harris, Reuters
Chu also dismissed allegations made by media personality Clara Chou (周玉蔻) during a political talk show on Sunday that a senior KMT member who had served in the Cabinet was mulling launching a campaign urging pan-blue supporters to abandon Chu and vote for People First Party presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜).
“I have never heard of such a plan. There are all sorts of false rumors during the final stage of an election campaign, but I believe all our supporters will vote for me,” Chu said.
There have been grave concerns that the KMT could lose chunks of the party vote to other pan-blue parties in Saturday’s legislative election, primarily due to its lackluster approval ratings and the record-high number of 18 political parties on the legislator-at-large ballot.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
To make matters worse, a number of KMT members have urged their supporters to cast their party votes for the New Party.
On Saturday, KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) listed on Facebook four reasons why pan-blue supporters should cast their party votes for the New Party, such as allowing another pan-blue party to form a legislative caucus to check the pan-green parties.
Last month, former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) of the KMT also called on supporters to cast their party votes for the New Party, calling it the “legitimate KMT.”
Legislator-at-large seats are awarded to parties that garner at least 5 percent of the party votes in the election and in proportion to the number of votes each party gains.
At a separate event in Nantou County yesterday, Chu said DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “failure to elaborate” on her cross-strait policies has unnerved many foreign reporters and academics, as well as the “silent majority” in Taiwan.
“That is why I must urge the public to come out on Saturday and vote in favor of Eric Chu,” Chu said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
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