The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on Wednesday agreed to use public polling to decide on a coalition presidential ticket, with the result to be announced on Saturday.
New Taipei City Mayor and KMT candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and TPP Chairman and candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) met on Wednesday in a closed-door meeting largely expected to be their last, as they attempt to break a stalemate over who is to represent the opposition on January’s presidential ballot.
The parties met at the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation in Taipei, with former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) serving as a witness.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
In a joint statement following the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, the participants said they had agreed to use polling results as the basis of their decision.
Polling experts are to analyze the results of public opinion polls conducted by various organizations between Tuesday last week and Friday, in addition to internal polls conducted by the two parties, they said.
For each poll, if the winner exceeds the statistical margin of error, they are to receive a “point,” they said.
If neither exceeds the margin of error, it would count as a point toward a Hou-Ko joint ticket, they added, remaining vague on the details.
The KMT, TPP and Ma are to each nominate a polling expert of their choice, the statement said, adding that the result would be announced by the foundation on Saturday morning.
After the ballot is decided, the KMT and TPP are to form a joint campaign to assist all candidates of the two parties running in January, it said.
Candidates for the presidential election on Jan. 13 must formally register between Monday and Friday next week.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
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
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
RSS