Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday downplayed questions on whether he intends to run for president without resigning as New Taipei City mayor, saying only that he would tell the public his plans after today’s provisional party congress.
Asked to comment on allegations that he plans to join the Jan.16 presidential race while holding on to the mayor’s seat, Chu said on the sidelines of a public event in the special municipality yesterday morning that he will “report to the public after decisions are reached at Saturday’s [today’s] party congress.”
“Now is not the time to care about personal reputation,” Chu said in response to questions whether the KMT leadership’s plan to allow him to replace the party’s current presidential candidate, Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), would attract more criticism.
Photo: Chen Wei-tsung, Taipei Times
“No one is contesting for power or pandering for favors at this moment, as we all aspire to shoulder greater responsibility for the sake of Taiwanese democracy and the Republic of China [ROC],” Chu said.
However, maintaining his mayorship might not be a good idea for Chu if he were to run for the top office.
A TVBS poll center survey released yesterday showed that as many as 66 percent of New Taipei City residents believe Chu should step down as mayor if he joins the presidential race, while 19 percent of respondents think otherwise.
A majority, or 54 percent, of respondents who identify themselves as pan-blue supporters also want Chu to quit his mayoral post, compared with 83 percent among those pan-green supporters.
Amid a growing sympathetic sentiment toward Hung among pan-blue supporters, Chu said he had expressed his apologies to the deputy legislative speaker through multiple channels, including text messages, public statements and via intermediaries.
As for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) reported countermeasures against his potential presidential bid, Chu said the DPP began mobilizing shortly after the KMT’s Central Standing Committee reached a consensus last week to hold the party congress.
“But this is good for Taiwanese democracy, as it will help create a more dynamic election and thus allow people to determine which direction they want for the future and their preferred choice [of candidate] in the 2016 election,” Chu said.
Hung yesterday declined to make any comments regarding today’s KMT party congress — which is due to vote on rescinding her nomination — when approached by reporters outside the Legislative Yuan.
She simply said “no comment” before quickly leaving the scene.
Separately, Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) expressed the hope that the KMT could nominate in a “harmonious and united manner” a candidate deemed by a majority of members as the most suitable to represent the party in the Jan. 16 presidential election.
“Hopefully, this candidate can help promote the cross-strait policies jointly shared by the party’s legislative candidates and facilitate their goal of building a stronger, and more prosperous, harmonious and advanced nation,” Wu said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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