Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, yesterday urged people to vote against the “corrupt” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections so that Taiwan could gain the respect of other democracies.
“When in power, the DPP always tries to pocket as much as it can, and when elections are near it just bribes media outlets to attack its opponents,” Han told a rally in Keelung.
For the first time in Taiwan’s history, 90 percent of media outlets are only criticizing the opposition parties, instead of keeping the ruling party in check, he said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“We all know this is an unfair presidential race, as our opponent not only has greater resources, but controls the armed forces as well as cyberarmies,” he said.
Han said that the distribution of resources is “extremely one-sided” between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, and compared running against the DPP to fighting a boxing match against an opponent “armed with an Uzi, a flamethrower, and assisted with satellites and missiles, while having only a nail clipper as a weapon.”
“We do not care how many resources you have — we will just fight you with our eyes closed, because we believe in the people,” he said.
The DPP thinks it can win the elections by having 90 percent of the media outlets attack the KMT’s “dark-skinned, bold, old and ugly presidential candidate,” not realizing it has lost public support, he said.
To put an end to the DPP’s corrupt rule, Taiwanese must vote it out of power, he said.
Doing so would show “all free and democratic countries around the world that Taiwanese can think clearly” and “make them gain respect for us,” he said.
Later yesterday, at a rally in Yilan County with KMT legislative candidate Lu Guo-hwa (呂國華), Han said that, if elected president, he would adopt a series of outward-looking policies that “open up Taiwan to the world.”
As president, he would promote scholarships to fund university students who want to study abroad for a year and encourage foreign universities to establish branches in Taiwan, Han said.
He would also provide scholarships for government employees, including military personnel, public-school teachers and public servants, to study abroad, he said.
Moreover, he said he would launch a Chinese-English bilingual program for all first-grade elementary students and the largest-scale talent fostering program in the nation’s history.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS