Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) is planning a visit to the US in March to thank Taiwanese expatriates for their support in last year’s nine-in-one elections, sources said.
Wu has repeatedly spoken about a trip abroad, saying that he has received many invitations from Taiwanese abroad, the sources said.
KMT spokesman Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) yesterday said that Taiwanese expats, including those in the US, Southeast Asia and elsewhere, have consistently expressed interest in a visit from Wu, but no decisions have been made about where or when he would go.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Sources within the KMT say that it is almost certain Wu would make a trip before next year’s presidential and legislative elections.
Travel restrictions on former vice presidents would not be a factor, KMT Overseas Department director Kuo Yun-kuang (郭昀光) said, adding that Wu has visited the US since stepping down as vice president and since becoming KMT chairman, and he has also traveled to the Philippines, Thailand and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) has no plans to visit the US in the near future, an aide said on Sunday.
Chu has announced his intent to seek the party’s presidential nomination and had previously said he would visit the US sometime around the Lunar New Year.
KMT Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said he would not have a clear answer about a possible presidential bid until after Lantern Festival on Feb. 19, adding that he would respect the party’s nomination process, Wang said.
Additional reporting by Shen Pei-yao, Wan Yu-chen and Chen Hsin-yu
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
RSS