The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) could draft former KMT chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) as its candidate for the New Taipei City mayoral by-election if New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) runs for president next year, party sources said.
Although Chiang, who is currently a legislator, has focused on cultivating influence in Taichung where his constituency is, he is the son-in-law of former national policy adviser Liu Sheng-liang (劉盛良) and brother-in-law to New Taipei City Councilor Liu Che-chang (劉哲彰), a New Taipei City source said.
The Liu family is influential in New Taipei City, the source said, adding that Chiang’s establishment of the Foundation for the People in New Taipei City in March last year has been seen as a move to expand his network in the area.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Sources from the KMT said that while Hou has not explicitly stated whether he would run for president, the party could “draft” him to run on the party’s ticket, which could lead to a by-election for the mayoral position in New Taipei City.
While Hou might prefer to have New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Liu He-jan (劉和然) take over, Liu He-jan is an administrator with no experience running election campaigns, the KMT sources said, adding that Liu He-jan is not very well-known.
Chiang has said he might run for Taichung mayor in 2026, but some of his confidants have suggested that Chiang should instead aim his sights toward New Taipei City, which has more significant political and strategic value, and would not require waiting four years, KMT sources said.
Photo: CNA
Liu Che-chang said he was not aware that Chiang had plans to move his registered residence to New Taipei City.
Liu Che-chang said he and Chiang have standing agreements to establish joint offices, and the foundation doubled as his New Taipei City councilor’s office.
Chiang’s office yesterday denied that he would consider running in the event of a New Taipei City mayoral by-election, adding that Chiang has never discussed the issue with Hou.
The office said Chiang is focused on his legislative duties and obtaining funding for projects in his constituency, adding that Chiang is looking forward to winning another term in the Legislative Yuan in the 2024 elections.
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the