As speculation runs rampant about whether Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would pair up with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) for next year's presidential election, Ma said yesterday that the issue was not a priority for his party.
While KMT insiders have long hinted at a possible "Ma-Wang" or "Wang-Ma" ticket next year, Wang hinted that he could mount his own presidential bid on Saturday when he did not dismiss a report in the Chinese-language United Daily News on Friday that said he had decided to run in the KMT primary.
The United Daily News and Chinese-language China Times also quoted anonymous sources yesterday who said that Ma discussed the issue of a joint ticket with former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
Ma rejected Lien's suggestion that he pair up with Wang in the election, the sources said.
Ma denied those reports yesterday, saying that the KMT's top concern was to bring the party together to win the election.
"I never make any declarations on the presidential election issue and the issue of pairing-up never came up during the meeting," Ma said while meeting with local party members at the Taipei International Convention Center.
Insisting that he had never made any comments on the issue, Ma called on the press not to make groundless allegations that raise unnecessary concern.
As Wang had dropped hints about his intention to run in the KMT presidential primary, some KMT members urged Ma to declare his candidacy as soon as possible.
Ma remained silent as party members cheered "President Ma!" during the meeting.
The KMT is scheduled to formally announce the details of its presidential primary on April 2 and announce its presidential candidate on May 25.
The party's candidate will be chosen by a public poll and a member vote.
The public poll will count for 70 percent of a candidate's score and the member vote 30 percent.
Meanwhile, asked about the possibility of pairing with Ma in the presidential election, Wang said: "I haven't thought about this."
"It would take a long time to consider," he said.
Wang made the remarks when approached by the press for comment on the China Times report.
The anonymous source in Saturday's China Times report said that Wang wants to break the deadlock caused by the confrontation between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, which could mean that he wants to form a third party.
However, Wang dismissed the rumor, saying: "I never said that. Only what I myself said is reliable."
Meanwhile, a group of pan-blue lawmakers called for unity yesterday between Ma and Wang, saying that it is essential for the pan-blue camp to win the next presidential election.
"They both have to take unity seriously. The key point is their intentions, but we haven't seen what their intentions are for the moment," KMT Legislator Hsu Shu-po (
Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞), spokes-man of the People First Party (PFP), and Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) called a press conference yesterday that urged the pan-blue leaders -- Lien, PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), Ma and Wang -- to consider holding a summit on the matter.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS