Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Chia-chin (
They are Hung Hsiu-chu (
With tears streaming down his face, Lee Chia-chin told yesterday morning's press conference that he hopes that his withdrawal will help unify the pan-blue alliance and reclaim the county after it was lost to the pan-green camp 16 years ago.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
"We lost the election because we are not united," he said. "When Chou announced his candidacy, he said he would like to be the first grain of sand toward the incorporation of the pan-blues. I hope my withdrawal from the primary today serves as the first step toward the pan-blue camp's integration."
"Lee Chia-chin said that his withdrawal was inspired by Chou's `first grain of sand' theory. He said that he was very emotional and over-reacting when Chou announced his return to the KMT to participate in the party's primary.
"After interacting with him and carefully thinking things over, I decided to drop out of the race and give him my endorsement," he said. "I am also happy to accept the offer to be his campaign manager."
While Lee Chia-chin said that he was not pressured to make the decision, Lee Chien-lung said that he strongly suspects that his rival was forced to do so by the higher-ups in the party.
"Closed-door politics," he said. "If the pan-blue alliance wants to recover Taipei County, solid grassroots support base is key."
As Lee Chien-lung vowed to continue his campaign, Hung said that she was stunned and baffled by Lee Chia-chin's decision, but she will continue her election bid.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS