People First Party (PFP) presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) opened his campaign headquarters in Taipei yesterday with a rally, with the former Taiwan Province governor labeling the current government as “incompetent,” adding that government policies pander to the interests of business conglomerates, while most people suffer under economic stagnation.
Soong's running mate Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), in wrapping up the rally with a speech outlining the party’s vision for the nation, promised to deliver hope and a brighter future to the people.
With political pep talks and slogans such as “Let’s Win Taiwan Back,” the joint cross-party ticket had over 10,000 banner-waving supporters, many of them wearing PFP-orange caps, or white caps with the yellow emblem of the Republican Party. There was also a prominent display of the Republic of China (ROC) national flag.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The main campaign office for the Soong-Hsu ticket, at the intersection of Jinan Road and Xinsheng S roads in Taipei, officially opened yesterday, while the rally was several blocks away, on Jinan Road next to the legislature.
The party’s campaign logo was unveiled, with an orange circle converging with a tilted square, with its intersecting form resembling an idealized outline of Taiwan.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) visited the campaign office in the morning, lunching with Soong and hosting a private meeting.
Although Ko avoided reporter questions from reporters, speculation is that Ko is supporting Soong in the presidential election.
“We are old friends. It is normal to visit each other once in a while. We can also exchange our views on Taiwan’s political scene,” Ko said.
Soong said in his speech that; “Ma [President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)] has failed the people, with many medium and small enterprises going out of business, the middle-class being squeezed out and the young generation given no hope for the future, because they cannot find work or toil in low-paying jobs. Many of them cannot afford rent and the rising living costs.”
“If I am elected, then get only a 9 percent approval rating, I would resign. When the citizens do not trust the government, how can it continue its rule?” he said.
“We have an incompetent government, and it is time to vote them out of office,” Soong said.
“If I am elected, we will have a better future. I will return the nation to its core values of liberty and democracy. Together we can bring confidence and respect back to Taiwanese,” he said.
Soong also said that “Taiwan’s future must be decided by Taiwanese,” and “Taiwan is our mother homeland, we are all in a big Taiwanese family,” and added that he would defend and preserve the Constitution and the sovereignty of the ROC.
Soong has worked with, and allegedly had close ties with, the late KMT president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
Soong called for “a middle road” on a cross-strait relationship with China, by avoiding both unification and independence, adding that he can end the political wrangling between central and local governments, while saying that if elected, he and Hsu would make annual “State of the Nation” reports at the Legislature, to present the year’s fiscal budget and results of government implemented programs.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit
HOSPITAL VISITS: Shin Kong Mitsukoshi pledged to give the families of the four people who died NT$11m each and provide support for staff working at the time The central government would assist local governments to enhance public safety, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as he visited people in hospital who were injured in an explosion at a department store in Taichung on Thursday. A suspected gas explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang department store in Taichung at 11:33am on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 36. Of the 40 casualties, 39 were hospitalized, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed. Three died after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the data showed. As of 6am yesterday, 25 of those injured had been discharged from hospital, leaving 11