A joint bid to lead the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) by media personality and Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) and former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) would receive the highest support among KMT supporters, a survey conducted by the pan-green camp showed yesterday.
Jaw on Monday announced that he had applied to restore his KMT membership and that he did not rule out entering the race for party chairperson.
KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) on Wednesday said that Jaw’s request to return to the KMT has been approved and that Jaw would be appointed to the party’s Central Advisory Committee after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Photo: Lu Hsin-te, Taipei Times
The survey showed that while the general public preferred former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) as KMT chairman, polling of KMT members showed their preference for Jaw.
However, if Han were to enter the race, but not Jaw, KMT supporters showed a preference for Chu, giving him a lead of 4.3 percentage points over Han, it showed.
If the general public were to choose between Chu, Jaw, Chiang and Sean Lien (連勝文), a former Taipei mayoral candidate and son of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), they also preferred Chu, with Chu leading at 41 percent and all other candidates following at less than 20 percent, including Jaw at 18 percent, it showed.
However, self-identified KMT supporters, when asked the same question, gave Jaw the lead at 41.9 percent, followed by Chu at 34.9 percent and Han at 29 percent, the survey showed.
Han’s move to bring back Jaw might be a winning strategy to seize power in the KMT, as this could marginalize Chiang and Lien, pundits said.
However, the survey also showed lower backing for Jaw and Han among younger KMT supporters, those under 40 years old.
Pundits said that the return of Jaw, 70, would not rejuvenate the KMT, although he was once considered the party’s “golden boy" before he left in 1993 to found the New Party.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man