Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members are calling for KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) to “lead the charge” by joining a possible mayoral by-election amid a bleak outlook for Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) in a recall vote scheduled for June 6, party sources said on Saturday.
If Han of the KMT is recalled — which would trigger a mayoral by-election — it would deal a serious blow to the party, in which case a strong mayoral candidate would be needed to shield the party from further damage, a KMT legislator said on condition of anonymity.
If the party’s candidate in a mayoral by-election cannot win 890,000 votes as Han did in the 2018 local elections at the height of his popularity, they would need to win at least the 600,000 votes that Han garnered in the city when he ran as the KMT’s presidential candidate in the Jan. 11 elections, the lawmaker said.
Screen grab from Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s Facebook page
If Chiang throws his hat in the ring, he would be helping the party through its darkest hour a second time, which would resolve the Han issue and boost morale within the party, as well as his own popularity, they said.
If Chiang joins the race, he would be KMT members’ No. 1 candidate for next year’s KMT chairperson election, they added.
Calls for ex-KMT chairman and former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) to run in a possible mayoral by-election are also intensifying at the grassroots level, another party source said.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
Chiang and Chu are the top choice of many party members, because either of them could run for KMT chairman next year, while analysts have said that Han could also vie for the position, the source said.
During the presidential election, Han was criticized by the opposing camp as “pro-China, crass and disorganized,” leaving many KMT mayors and commissioners fearing for themselves while stumping for him, the source said.
“They do not want to have to go through it all again,” they added.
Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuang (李四川) would be a “safer bet,” said another KMT legislator, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Lee is from southern Taiwan and familiar with the city’s municipal affairs, the lawmaker said.
Kaohsiung residents do not have too big of an issue with Lee, as they “just dislike Han,” the lawmaker said, adding that Lee is deemed “less political,” which could boost the KMT’s electoral prospects, as Kaohsiung residents have likely grown tired of the politics surrounding Han.
Han won the mayoral election as a dark horse, only to lose the public’s trust, so Kaohsiung residents are unlikely to vote for another novelty candidate fielded by the KMT, party sources said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS