Former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) was yesterday named Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) campaign manager and vowed to “turn the tide” in favor of the KMT in the six weeks leading up to the Jan. 16 election.
Hu said it took him “five seconds” to accept Chu’s invitation to serve as chief of staff at the KMT presidential election campaign headquarters.
“This is a crucial moment for the survival of the KMT,” Hu said.
Photo: CNA
At a press conference at the KMT headquarters in Taipei, Hu promised to do his best “for what is right” and “turn the tide toward victory” for the KMT in the countdown to the Jan. 16 elections.
Hu served as foreign minister under former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and has been working as a vice chairman of Want Want China Times Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) since he lost his bid for re-election as Taichung mayor in December last year.
Hu said that as Chu’s campaign manager, what he wants most is to achieve victory.
He said he will study how to boost the momentum of Chu’s campaign in the final weeks before the election.
At the press conference, Chu also announced other major appointments, including that of Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as head of his advisory group.
Hung was originally nominated by the KMT National Congress as its presidential candidate in July, but three months later, an extraordinary National Congress of the party passed a motion to void her nomination, and installed Chu as the party’s nominee instead on Oct. 17.
There had been rumors that the two had been at odds since, but Chu took the initiative to visit Hung at her official residence on Thursday evening — which is seen by political observers as a move to reconciliation — before yesterday’s announcement.
Also, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) was named as chief of the KMT campaign’s support group.
Chu’s national campaign headquarters are to be formally inaugurated today. He has been trailing in opinion polls far behind Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Chu said he decided to name Hu as his campaign manager because Hu is very familiar with electoral matters and has participated in almost every presidential election campaign in the country.
Chu said many people who had been unlikely to support him have now decided to do so out of concern for the nation.
He urged people who are disappointed with the KMT not to despair, but rather to come out and vote.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS