Legislative by-election candidate Enoch Wu (吳怡農) yesterday rebutted accusation leveled against him by his competitor of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), saying that Taipei City Councilor Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) is “only talking negatively” about him, but does not have any policy proposals.
Wu, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate in a by-election in Taipei to fill the legislative seat vacated by KMT Taipei mayor-elect Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), during the day held several campaign events and at night canvassed at Liaoning Street Night Market in the city’s Zhongshan District (中山).
“We only hear Wang talking negatively these days,” he told reporters. “She does not respect the electorate; she has not presented any concrete plans.”
Photo: CNA
“Voters expect all candidates to present plans, so that they know what the candidate, if elected, would do and what policies the candidate would support in the name of their electorate,” he said, adding that Wang has no “constructive suggestions.”
Wang did not hold any campaign events, after she on Thursday tested positive for COVID-19.
However, she continued her campaign online, posting several videos on her social media channels, including one in which she said that “Wu [is the] favorite boy candidate chosen by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).”
However, several government agencies disagree with Wu’s proposals, Wang said, implying that his candidacy led to friction within the government.
Wu rejected the accusations and accused KMT members of running a “dirty campaign,” in which KMT Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) called him “a giant baby.”
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Huang Tzu-che (黃子哲) also weighed in, calling him a “pus-filled cyst,” a play on his given name in Chinese.
“This is a highly personal insult,” Wu said, referring to Huang’s comment. “It once more shows that the KMT does not respect the electorate ... I believe most voters cannot accept such talk.”
“In a democratic election, candidates should aspire to take the high road and show respect,” he said. “However, it is not possible for us to ask the opposition to refrain from personal attacks. It is up to the people to use their votes and chose a candidate who stands for good policies.”
Separately, Wu’s campaign office said in a statement that “KMT officials have engaged in personal attacks that go beyond what is appropriate.”
The words KMT officials used to describe Wu were “crass” and “vicious,” the statement said.
“Does KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) condone such actions? Or has the [KMT leadership] permitted party officials to engage in such personal attacks?” it asked.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Tourism in Kenting fell to a historic low for the second consecutive year last year, impacting hotels and other local businesses that rely on a steady stream of domestic tourists, the latest data showed. A total of 2.139 million tourists visited Kenting last year, down slightly from 2.14 million in 2024, the data showed. The number of tourists who visited the national park on the Hengchun Peninsula peaked in 2015 at 8.37 million people. That number has been below 2.2 million for two years, although there was a spike in October last year due to multiple long weekends. The occupancy rate for hotels
RSS