The "pan-blue" camp hopes to announce its joint candidate for the year-end Kaohsiung mayoral race by the end of the week, James Chen (陳建治), director-general of the KMT's Organization and Development Committee, said yesterday.
According to Chen, the KMT's nine-member nomination review committee could announce its choice of candidate for Kaohsiung mayor as early as tomorrow.
"Once that is done, we will sit down with the PFP to reach a consensus over a joint candidate," Chen said, adding that a consensus would be reached either through an opinion poll or negotiations with the PFP.
"If all goes smoothly, a joint KMT-PFP candidate will be decided this week without much ado," Chen said.
The PFP has selected its vice chairman, Chang Chao-hsiung (
Complicating matters is the number of contenders from the two parties as well the entry of former minister of the interior Chang Po-ya (張博雅) and former DPP chairman Shih Ming-te (施明德), both of whom are independents. The PFP has proposed that Chang and Shih should be taken into consideration as joint candidates for the "pan-blue" camp to take on DPP incumbent Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).
Chen declined to comment on speculation in a local Chinese-language newspaper that Huang Jun-ying would be the KMT's chosen candidate.
Meanwhile, PFP caucus leader Liu Wen-hsiung (
Liu said Chang would only withdraw with good reason.
"[Chang] has never insisted that he run in the Kaohsiung mayoral race," Liu said. "If the KMT's nominee has a greater chance of winning than Chang, then that would be a good reason for Chang to withdraw from the race."
While Liu did not rule out Chang Po-ya or Shih, he said there was some opposition within the party to Chang Po-ya's obscure political position.
Liu, nevertheless, reiterated that his party has maintained a high degree of flexibility concerning the mayoral candidacy and will not rule out any qualified contenders.
Once the KMT reveals its choice of candidate, Liu said his party would prefer to decide on the joint candidate through negotiation rather than opinion polls.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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