Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday said that he would be unable to participate in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential primary as it is currently structured, but that he believes the nation’s development and defense is his responsibility.
Han, speaking to the media after a Kaohsiung City Government meeting in the morning, thanked his supporters “at home and abroad.”
“During my tenure as mayor, I have come to deeply understand that things can only be good in Kaohsiung if things in Taiwan are good,” he said. “At this time, I cannot join the primary under the existing system.”
Photo: CNA
Politics has long been influenced by “bigwigs” holding meetings in private, and has moved far away from the will of the general public, he said.
“Taiwan urgently needs a political revolution,” Han added.
He said he is not concerned about personal loss or gain, but only feels the need to take responsibility for the development and defense of Taiwan, which he deeply loves.
“I wish for the heavens to protect Taiwanese and protect the Republic of China,” he said.
Han had originally planned to announce his decision not to join the primary on Monday, but the announcement was rescheduled to Friday. Then, at 12:27am yesterday a message posted to Line by Kaohsiung Information Bureau Director-General Anne Wang (王淺秋) said that Han would make an announcement after the city government meeting.
Commentators have been saying that although Han previously said he would not run for president, he likely changed his mind after seeing his standing in public opinion polls.
About 10 supporters were present at Han’s announcement, with some of them saying they would abstain from voting if Han was not on the ballot.
Former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who has announced his intention to run in the KMT primary, said he understood Han’s grievances, and that elitism caused the KMT to lose the last presidential election.
Wang said that he hoped the party would not repeat past mistakes, but that it would choose the nominee most capable of helping the nation to survive and develop.
Former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that no one should “hurt one’s own people when reaching out, or make a commotion for others’ entertainment,” in response to Han’s announcement.
Chu said he has never spoken badly of fellow KMT candidates.
The party’s Central Committee would resolve the primary impasse with “the greatest sincerity,” Chu said, adding that party unity depends on it.
Hon Hai Group chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), who on Wednesday last week announced that he would participate in the KMT primary, responded on Facebook to Han’s allegations of “bigwigs holding meetings in private,” saying that the situation was “unimaginable for a politically inexperienced person” like him.
Gou criticized the party’s inability to nail down the details of the primary.
Former Taipei County commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), who has said he hoped to become the party’s nominee, urged the KMT Central Committee to hold a “fair and honest” public opinion poll before the end of the month, and to elect whoever fares best in the poll as the party’s presidential candidate.
“The public is watching us. We need to act soon. If we continue to delay [the primary], the public is going to loathe us,” he said, adding that he empathizes with KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who said he was struggling to maintain party unity and preserve the primary process.
KMT spokesman Ouyang Lung (歐陽龍) said that as Han just began his term as mayor, it would be difficult for him to tell the people of Kaohsiung if he decided to run for president.
Wu hoped to help Han by having him participate in the primary, he said, adding that he hoped Han would not misunderstand the situation, as it is normal for all qualified candidates to join the primary.
KMT Taoyuan chapter director Yang Min-sheng (楊敏盛) said that he did not advise Han to run for president.
Han should tell the KMT Central Committee not make him a candidate, because he has been in office such a short time, he said, adding that Han should complete his term as mayor to the best of his ability.
Meanwhile, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he prefers to “focus on his daily work” rather than concerned himself with Han’s statements.
Citing the saying: “Peace reigns throughout the world, but only the ignorant bring trouble on themselves,” Ko said that only by thinking of the decision to run for president as annoying does it become a disturbing issue.
He would continue his routines and make the decision when the time is right, Ko said.
Additional reporting by Lee I-chia, Hsieh Wu-hsiung, Chen Yun, Chen Jou-jen, Lai Hsiao-tung and CNA
BUILDUP: US General Dan Caine said Chinese military maneuvers are not routine exercises, but instead are ‘rehearsals for a forced unification’ with Taiwan China poses an increasingly aggressive threat to the US and deterring Beijing is the Pentagon’s top regional priority amid its rapid military buildup and invasion drills near Taiwan, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday. “Our pacing threat is communist China,” Hegseth told the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense during an oversight hearing with US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Beijing is preparing for war in the Indo-Pacific as part of its broader strategy to dominate that region and then the world,” Hegseth said, adding that if it succeeds, it could derail
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
CROSS-STRAIT: The MAC said it barred the Chinese officials from attending an event, because they failed to provide guarantees that Taiwan would be treated with respect The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday night defended its decision to bar Chinese officials and tourism representatives from attending a tourism event in Taipei next month, citing the unsafe conditions for Taiwanese in China. The Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, organized by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association, is to run from July 18 to 21. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) on Friday said that representatives from China’s travel industry were excluded from the expo. The Democratic Progressive Party government is obstructing cross-strait tourism exchange in a vain attempt to ignore the mainstream support for peaceful development
RSS