Uncertainty surrounds the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson election, after current Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and frontrunner Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) announced they would not run.
Despite getting an endorsement from Chu, Lu said yesterday that she would not run for chair due to the “tsunami” effect of US President Donald Trump’s 20 percent tariffs, as she must “stand guard with our businesses and our citizens through expected hardships ahead.”
Chu, who is serving his second term as chair, has also announced that he would not run again.
Photo: Taipei Times
The election is scheduled for Oct. 18, with candidate registration to close on Friday next week.
Possible frontrunners now include former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who has served as KMT vice chairman multiple times and ran in the previous chair election, as well as former minister of foreign affairs and Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), and former KMT vice chairperson and Chiayi Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠).
Due to his previous experience in senior party roles and his power within the KMT, Hau may be the best choice for the role, an anonymous KMT official said.
However, local election officials within the party said that Hu could bring fresh ideas and energy to the party, while his connections to the US and China could help the KMT deepen ties with both Washington and Beijing.
Meanwhile, Huang’s mayoral term in Chiayi is to end next year and her former service as acting and vice chair of the party gives her ample experience to take on the role, the official said.
Additional party members have expressed interest in the role, including Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中), who previously called for Chu to step down following the last failed presidential election.
Former KMT deputy secretary-general Chang Ya-ping (張雅屏), found guilty in 2016 of conducting a smear campaign during the 2014 local elections and sentenced to two years, 10 months in prison, has also been touted for the role.
Other notable names include former Changhua County commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源), former legislator Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) and KMT Central Standing Committee member Sun Chien-ping (孫健萍).
However, it remains to be seen if the party can convince Lu or Chu to put their names in the running before the registration period, which is to run from Monday to Friday next week.
Calls for Lu to step up are expected to continue, the official said.
Former KMT secretary-general Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍) said he would rally council speakers across the country to support her, while KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) today endorsed Lu.
Meanwhile, some within the party believe that Chu remains the party’s best choice should Lu stand by her decision, after he led the KMT to sweeping victories in local elections over the past four years and secured a legislative majority last year.
The next KMT chair is to take office on Nov. 1 ahead of next year’s local elections and lead campaigns for the January 2028 national election.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS