New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) yesterday said he is “good to go” to run in next year’s presidential election as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) started its nomination process.
Hou — who is widely regarded as the presumptive KMT presidential candidate — made the remark in response to questions about his next moves at a news conference after a meeting with city officials.
Asked to elaborate, Hou said he has held 15 government posts during his career, adding that preparing for new challenges to help the nation is part of the job.
Photo: CNA
The KMT’s nomination process is directed by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) with an eye toward party unity, Hou said, adding that he trusts in the party headquarters’ decisionmaking process and strategy.
Hou in November last year was re-elected mayor with more than 1.16 million, or 62.42 percent, of the vote, which has bolstered his position as the party’s leading presidential hopeful.
However, to run for president, Hou would need to step down as mayor before serving less than half of his mandate.
Hou said he would like to be part of a special committee that would select candidates for next year’s legislative elections.
Separately, the KMT Central Standing Committee nominated 16 legislative candidates, with KMT mayors and commissioners posing with the candidates for the cameras in a demonstration of unity.
The party would name two more sets of candidates by June 18, KMT Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷), who heads the KMT culture and communications committee, told a separate news conference in Taipei.
The party last month said it would nominate legislative candidates by a special committee instead of holding primary elections, citing a need to maintain solidarity.
The party has delayed naming a presidential candidate due not to disunity, but to amplify the “mother hen” effect on other candidates, Hung said.
The KMT would not rush or postpone announcing candidates for the elections, he said.
Asked about Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) public disapproval of a proposed “non-green alliance,” Hung said the KMT is ironing out differences with other opposition parties in hopes of creating a broader coalition.
The KMT has open lines of communication with other opposition parties and conducts its negotiations with the utmost sincerity, he said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS