Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
The denials came after a Chinese-language local paper reported yesterday on its front page that Ma, who is also a KMT vice chairman, has already clearly expressed his intention to run for the KMT party leadership when the seat comes up for grabs in March.
Quoting a "powerful member of the KMT," the story said that Ma already has his eye on a 2008 run for president and is planning to announce a final decision about running for party chairman after the legislative elections next month.
The story -- and reporters questions -- yesterday sparked denials from Ma.
"I haven't considered this issue yet; I've been too busy with the Taipei City government and in the year-end legislative elections," Ma said.
"This is a misunderstanding; the reporter [who wrote the article] didn't even interview me for this story," he said.
The news provoked mixed reactions in the pan-blue camp yesterday.
"The KMT party chair is elected by all party members. Any party member can run for chairmanship," KMT caucus whip Huang Teh-fu (
"There are many people I can think of who might run for party chairmanship. Hwang Yih-jiau (
A merger between the KMT and the PFP next February is purportedly in the works.
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"It's time for the legislative elections," was all Lien would say to reporters yesterday when questioned at the KMT's headquarters in Taipei.
Legislative Speaker and another potential KMT party chair contender Wang Jin-pyng (
Wang was identified in the newspaper article as Lien's favorite to succeed him in the post.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
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