Opposition politicians failed to agree on a united approach to the January elections during a chaotic meeting that was broadcast live yesterday, ahead of the 5pm deadline for registration today.
In a last-ditch effort to revive faltering negotiations, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) invited the other opposition candidates, independent Terry Gou (郭台銘) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), to talks at the Grand Hyatt Taipei at 4:30pm.
Gou was the first to arrive in the venue, followed by Hou at 4:46pm, who was accompanied by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), also of the KMT.
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
Gou’s campaign said it had originally planned to hold closed talks between the three candidates on the 25th floor of the hotel, but the KMT insisted on live-streaming the discussion with Chu and Ma also present.
Ko and Gou entered late to the room, leaving the KMT members alone at a desk next to a digital clock counting down to the registration deadline at 5pm today.
The combative tone was set early, with spokesmen for Gou and the KMT trading barbs before the final two participants arrived.
Photo: CNA
Gou, who was appointed leader of the talks, said that if the discussions were still only between the KMT and the TPP, he would leave.
At one point, Hou brought out his phone to read text messages from Ko saying that Gou needed a reason to withdraw from the race.
Ko took issue with Hou reading their private messages, saying it is “something that only celebrities and their wingmen would do.”
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
Hou responded that he read it with Ko’s permission, and he could have refused.
There was some discussion of the disagreement in polling analysis that stymied initial coalition talks last week, with Chu suggesting that the two sides discuss collaboration without dwelling on the dispute, as the polls consistently showed that a united opposition in any form would be victorious in January.
However, the participants did not reach an agreement during the 90-minute event and they at one point left for a break after Gou excused himself. He did not come back until the KMT delegation’s departure.
Photo: Reuters
The meeting ended at the 6:30pm deadline with the KMT members leaving after Gou’s spokesman suggested that the party tried to manipulate polls from earlier in the year.
Gou and Ko stayed a few more minutes to speak with reporters, with Gou again expressing discontent at being relegated to a witness rather than participant, but adding that “the sun will rise again tomorrow.”
The KMT held its own news conference after the meeting, saying it would “wait until the last moment” and calling for a return to the original six agreements reached with the TPP on Wednesday last week.
However, according to a schedule posted by the TPP later in the evening, Ko is to go to the Central Election Commission at 11am today to register his candidacy, leaving doubt that an agreement would be reached before then.
The schedule did not mention who would be accompanying Ko to the office.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-yi
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS