Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members yesterday dismissed media reports that Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) is to be replaced by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) as the party’s presidential candidate, saying the allegations were based on unfounded rumors.
“The KMT officially selected Hung as its presidential candidate at a party congress on July 19. The party headquarters and local branches have all begun campaigning for the candidate,” KMT spokesperson Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said.
The media reports are based on unsubstantiated rumors, she added.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Lin was referring to an article yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper), which cited a “credible anonymous source” as saying that two senior KMT officials had been sounding out several party heavyweights over their sentiment toward entering next year’s Jan. 16 election as Chu’s running mate.
The report said the two officials only resumed their current posts after Chu took over as chairman of the KMT from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in January.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said she was “extremely annoyed” to hear these kinds of rumors on political talk shows over the past month.
“Who are those anonymous sources exactly? Stop hiding in the shadows,” Lo said, dismissing the possibility of the party dropping a candidate that has been legitimately selected via the party’s primary process.
Lo said that rumors such as this seemed to be aimed at fostering the false belief among pan-blue supporters that the KMT could replace its presidential candidate at any time and thus encourage them to support someone else.
She urged KMT supporters not to be manipulated by politically motivated rumormongers and to stay united.
KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) shrugged off the reports, saying that both Chu and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) have campaigned for Hung.
“While there is plenty of room for Hung’s campaign to improve, the KMT needs unity more than ever. Such rumors can only hurt the party,” Alicia Wang said.
Wang Jin-pyng, who was said to be interested in making a presidential bid, also dismissed the allegations, saying that there were too many rumors in circulation and the public should not take them seriously.
Asked when he planned to attend Hung’s campaign events to show his support, Wang Jin-pyng said that for Hung to win the election, “collective wisdom and action are required.”
“If I act unilaterally it will only fuel unnecessary speculation,” he said.
“It would be like throwing a tiny stone into a pond, which does not cause much of an effect except for a small ripple,” the legislative speaker said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by