Former National Immigration Agency director-general Hsieh Li-kung (謝立功) is likely to represent the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in the Nov. 29 Keelung mayoral election after the party pulled its backing from its original nominee earlier this month.
Hsieh, a senior adviser to the National Security Council, yesterday said that the KMT has discussed the idea with him, but there are “still some procedures to go through.”
He said that “it would be a tough battle,” but added: “If the party wants me to represent it, I’ll do my best.”
Photo: CNA
The first thing he needs to do, he said, is “to listen more to the voices of people in Keelung and learn about their needs.”
The KMT is expected to approve Hsieh’s nomination at a meeting of its Central Standing Committee next week.
Keelung City Council Speaker Huang Ching-tai (黃景泰) won the party’s primary to represent the KMT in the election, but the party revoked his nomination on July 9 after he came under investigation in connection with influence peddling in a real-estate development project.
Because the KMT’s top choice to fill the vacancy — Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) — has adamantly refused to run, the party was forced to consider other potential aspirants, including Hsieh and KMT Organizational Development Committee director Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓).
Hsieh Li-kung prevailed because of his clean image and longstanding ties to the port city, and because Su is busy with preparations for local elections taking place around the country, including in Keelung, on Nov. 29, party sources said.
Although Hsieh Li-kung was not born in Keelung, he has spent nearly 20 years there, including when he studied for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at National Taiwan Ocean University in the city and when he worked at the local branch of the Investigation Bureau.
Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥), the son of former Keelung mayor Lin Shui-mu (林水木), who took part in the KMT’s primary, said that although Hsieh Li-kung is not well-known in Keelung, he “has a good image,” and he pledged his full support for Hsieh Li-kung’s candidacy.
Huang, who has insisted on remaining a candidate despite losing his party’s nomination, said that he would not comment “before the KMT officially nominates a candidate.”
Democratic Progressive Party Keelung mayoral candidate Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said that he had no comment on Hsieh’s emergence as the likely candidate, calling it an internal matter of the KMT.
Lin said he would continue his campaign in a “cautiously optimistic manner.”
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
RSS