Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday called on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to stop selling its controversial party assets, questioning whether it is doing so to avoid supervision from the next legislature.
“The public should take this seriously. The KMT is trying to sell off its party assets before the legislative and presidential elections,” Tsai said in response to media queries while attending a campaign rally for the party’s legislative candidate in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢).
“I suspect that [the KMT] is selling the party assets with the intention of avoiding examination and supervision of the new legislature after the election and therefore I call on KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) to refrain from selling party assets prior to the election of the new legislature and the passage of legislation on political parties and party assets,” she said.
Photo: CNA
Tsai was referring to advertisements published by the Chinese-language Commercial Times earlier this week that called for buyers for 26 plots owned by the KMT — three in Taipei, six in Taichung and 17 in Changhua — and for 80 percent of the shares of a hotel in Palau.
Tsai asked KMT presidential candidate Chu to clearly explain the funding of his and KMT legislative candidates’ campaigns, as the DPP did.
Chu should explain whether KMT assets have been used to fund election campaigns and how much has been invested so that voters have a basis for comparison between the two parties, Tsai said.
Speaking about the scheduled presidential debates, Tsai said she is glad the three parties have finally reached an agreement on the dates.
The presidential and vice presidential candidates’ debates have been scheduled with the first debate to take place on Saturday next week, the second on Dec. 27 and the third on Jan. 2.
“There will be three debates, and we are happy to have this opportunity to present our policies to voters around the nation,” Tsai said.
Tsai said that her aides would be working closely with debate organizers, while she and her team would be making their final preparations for the debates, adding that she has canceled some public appearances to prepare.
Tsai has been campaigning in Taoyuan and said that the situation is relatively more stable in southern Taiwan, so she would focus on regions where the support is relatively weaker, such as Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli and New Taipei City.
As for Jhougli, which has traditionally been a stronghold for the KMT, Tsai said that the support for the two parties is 50/50 and called on the voters to give the DPP a chance.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
INCENTIVES: The province’s ‘21 measures’ include enhanced agricultural loans for Taiwanese farmers, and rent waivers and housing subsidies for Taiwanese start-ups China’s Fujian Province on Monday began implementing 15 economic measures targeting Taiwanese in its latest bid to fan pro-Beijing sentiment ahead of the Jan. 13 elections. Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said the policies were part of “21 measures” unveiled in September by China for Fujian’s “integrated cross-strait development demonstration zone.” The partially implemented measures, which were created with input from Beijing, include reducing the wait time for Taiwanese applying for a visa from 20 days to five days and free public transit for Taiwanese older than 65, it said. Residents of Taiwan were granted use of the “all provincial Taiwanese entrepreneur compatriot