Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢), who on Monday announced a bid for the party chairperson election in May, said he would be running for president in 2020 as party chairman if elected.
In a radio interview yesterday, Chan said he believes it would be best for the KMT to have the next party chairperson run for president.
“Leading the party and the election campaign at the same time would be the most effective campaign tactic and the same goes for the local elections next year,” he said, adding that the party’s image and the chairperson’s behavior would influence its prospects in next year’s local elections.
Asked about calls within the KMT for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) to run for president on the KMT ticket in 2020, Chan denied that it was a call from within the party, but said the call arose from “talk in society.”
He has not discussed the issue with Gou, Chan said, but added that Gou had once jokingly told Chan that he had no idea why he is being linked to a presidential bid.
Chan said he knows he will have to fulfill certain requirements and meet qualifications to secure the party’s presidential nomination, but he wants to “make his stance clear” on his intention to run for president.
Being a vice presidential candidate “is not an option for me,” he said, amid rumors he might partner with Gou.
Chan said he would play a supporting role if Gou won the nomination, but not as a vice presidential candidate.
Chan said it was not worth worrying about the possibility of chairperson votes being divided between himself and former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) — with the pair considered part of the “local” faction up against KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) mainlander faction.
Chan challenged the notion of factions even existing, saying that people seem to have a different definition for what they are made up of.
He said there is no division along “local” and “mainlander” lines, nor along “independence” and “unification” idealogies.
Some might be categorized as “local,” but have had conflict with the Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) branch — made up of military veterans and their relatives — because of personal reasons, he said, adding that while the KMT used to be an inclusive and diverse party in which all endeavored to construct Taiwan under the same ideals, now factions harbor animosity toward each other.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as