PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (
Chang Chao-hsiung, who was representing the PFP in a three-way contest for the pan-blue camp's nomination, said he had made the decision for the good of cooperation between his party and the KMT.
Born and raised in Kaohsiung City, Chang Chao-hsiung said he cared a lot for his hometown and that was the reason why he had decided to run for the mayoral post in the first place.
PHOTO: LIN YA-LI, TAIPEI TIMES
"Out of respect for the opposition parties' cooperation, I have been keeping a low campaign profile all along," said Chang, who was persuaded by his party to stand for election three months ago.
"For the sake of pushing for a quick and smooth nomination process among the opposition parties, I've decided to withdraw from the nomination," he said.
Chang's withdrawal left two candidates, former Kaohsiung deputy mayor Huang Jun-ying (
Earlier last week, former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (
At a press conference to announce his withdrawal from the race yesterday, Chang Chao-hsiung threw his weight behind Chang Po-ya, saying she was the best choice for Kaohsiung voters.
"The candidacies of all the nominees are good, but [Kaohsiung residents] ought to choose the best of them all, [someone] who is capable, determined, honest, upright and with a vision," he said, adding that his party also regarded Chang Po-ya as the best candidate.
Chang Po-ya, who sat next to Chang Chao-hsiung during the press conference, said she appreciated his support and respected his decision to withdraw.
She said that a united opposition was necessary to win the election.
"I hope that the opposition party nomination process can proceed and develop smoothly and thus, without a hitch, nominate a candidate to run for the Kaohsiung mayoral post," she said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS