Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) yesterday officially qualified for the presidential election in January after the Central Election Commission (CEC) validated the signatures he had collected to run as an independent candidate.
Gou and his running mate, Tammy Lai (賴佩霞), submitted 1,038,031 signatures — more than the 1,036,778 counted by their campaign staff — of which 902,389, or 87 percent, were valid, the CEC said in a statement.
They needed at least 289,667 signatures, or 1.5 percent of all eligible voters, to get on the ballot.
Photo:CNA
Of the 10 signature campaigns registered with the CEC, only five submitted signatures. Besides Gou and Lai, none of the other campaigners passed the threshold.
The nine unsuccessful campaigners would each forfeit their NT$1 million (US$30,931) deposits for failing to collect half the required number of endorsements, the CEC said.
In a statement, Gou’s campaign office thanked CEC staff and everyone who supported the signature drive, saying that Gou would aim to bring about cross-strait peace, as well as prosperity and a “clean” government, if he wins the election.
In other developments, representatives of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) are to meet again today to negotiate whether they will field a joint ticket for the presidential race.
The meeting is to take place at the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation in Taipei, with former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT invited to participate as a witness, statements issued by the two parties said.
The attendees would include the KMT’s presidential candidate New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), TPP Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), and KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), the TPP said.
Due to venue restrictions, reporters would not be allowed to attend the meeting, but a news conference would be held afterward, the TPP said.
The meeting was arranged after the two parties agreed to partly determine who would run for president and would run for vice president using public polls after months of deadlock.
What remain to be determined are the content and rules of the poll, Chu said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS