Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, yesterday neither confirmed nor denied a rumor that he would take time off from his mayoral duties to focus on his presidential campaign.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung City Councilor Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) on Sunday said he had obtained information that Han would take time off from the city government starting on Monday or Tuesday next week.
This means Han would miss question time at the city council scheduled to begin at the end of the month, Chen said.
Photo: Hsu Li-juan, Taipei Times
By doing so, Han would be “abandoning Kaohsiung and treating its residents like dirt,” he said.
Han should either focus on his job as mayor or resign, unless he is not confident about winning the presidential election in January next year, Chen said.
Asked about the rumor, Han said that if he takes time off, he would discuss the matter with the city council and adhere to government regulations.
“I will definitely inform everyone when I formally apply for leave,” he said.
Asked if he is planning to take time off starting on Monday next week, Han walked away without answering the question.
The Kaohsiung City Government has not received any formal application for leave from Han, Kaohsiung Information Bureau Director-General Anne Wang (王淺秋) said.
Asked to comment, former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) said he took 60 days off from the city government using his paid annual leave when running for president in 2016.
He would respect Han’s decision on the matter, he said, but added that presidential candidates must be 100 percent devoted to the election in its final phase.
Voters would like to see their favored candidate at campaign rallies, he said.
In related news, Han’s campaign office yesterday pressed charges against political commentator Huang Kuang-chin (黃光芹) for slander and public humiliation.
Since June 14, Huang has made multiple Facebook posts defaming Han and his family, campaign office spokeswoman Ho Ting-huan (何庭歡) said.
However, the office declined to reveal the problematic posts.
Huang said she will not succumb to any pressure to silence her.
“[I will] not stop writing, as I am not fighting for my own survival, career or interests, but rather for future generations,” she wrote on Facebook.
Additional reporting by CNA
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
RSS