Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) declared his intention to run for Taipei mayor during a visit to the mausoleum of his father, late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), yesterday.
While visiting the former president's mausoleum in Touliao (
"As a former foreign minister and a lawmaker who is dedicated to cross-strait issues, I have decided to run in the race, and listen to the voice of the people," he said, adding that he will make a formal announcement after the Lunar New Year.
Asked to comment on his potential rival in the election, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Soong also paid their respects to the late president yesterday.
While a tearful Ma, who served as Chiang Ching-kuo's English translator, pledged to carry out the late Chiang's wish to be a politician with integrity, Soong called himself a follower of Chiang Ching-kuo, who Soong said was a tireless servant of the people in Taiwan during his term as the governor of Taiwan Province.
Soong declined to comment on John Chiang's announcement.
Faced with the difficulty of finding the perfect candidate for the KMT and even a possible pan-blue split, should Soong decided to run for Taipei mayor, Ma said yesterday that pan-blue integration is crucial if the camp is to win the race over the pan-greens. He declined to comment on Soong's possible candidacy.
"We've learned from many previous elections that pan-blue integration is key if we want to win ? But I do not want to make any comment on candidates representing other parties," he said yesterday during a gathering with the press at the city hall.
Saying that his party will choose a final candidate through primaries, Ma said it would be "improper" for him to persuade the former deputy mayor Ou Chin-der (
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
INCENTIVES: The province’s ‘21 measures’ include enhanced agricultural loans for Taiwanese farmers, and rent waivers and housing subsidies for Taiwanese start-ups China’s Fujian Province on Monday began implementing 15 economic measures targeting Taiwanese in its latest bid to fan pro-Beijing sentiment ahead of the Jan. 13 elections. Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said the policies were part of “21 measures” unveiled in September by China for Fujian’s “integrated cross-strait development demonstration zone.” The partially implemented measures, which were created with input from Beijing, include reducing the wait time for Taiwanese applying for a visa from 20 days to five days and free public transit for Taiwanese older than 65, it said. Residents of Taiwan were granted use of the “all provincial Taiwanese entrepreneur compatriot
Tokyo has requested regions in southern Japan to accommodate people evacuated from Okinawa Prefecture in case of a war in the Taiwan Strait, Kyodo news agency reported on Monday. If a conflict breaks out across the Strait, people on the Sakishima Islands, which lie between Taiwan proper and Okinawa’s main island, would have to be evacuated from the prefecture, the news agency reported. An estimated 120,000 people would need to be moved, including 110,000 citizens and 10,000 tourists, it said. Niitani Koushi, who is in charge of crisis management at the Japanese Cabinet Secretariat, visited Yamaguchi Prefecture at the southern end of Japan’s