New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (
“I won’t take part in the 2016 [presidential election], all right?” Chu said when a reporter asked him if he would deliver on the promise he has repeatedly made to complete his mayoral tenure.
Chu was again peppered with questions yesterday from reporters about whether he intended to run for president after KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍
Hau said Chu is duty-bound to represent the KMT in the election because he is the party chairman and the candidate with the best chance of winning.
“I have told him that he has to be mentally prepared to run,” Hau said during a radio interview.
Asked about Hau’s remarks, Chu said: “There is no such [duty].”
“I have been consistent in my stance on this — I will do a good job as mayor and complete my term. As the party’s chairman, I am like an arbitrator or a coach. I hope to see more talented people participate in the party’s primaries for both the legislative and presidential elections,” Chu said.
A reporter then asked his views on speculation that his recent decision to give up legal battles over 10 of the party’s assets, the ownership of which were disputed, was a move to smooth the difficulties he would face when running for president, Chu said the party has stuck to the path of reform.
Chu then said he would not run for president next year when a reporter pressed him on whether he would keep his promise to serve out his term as mayor.
At a separate setting, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson — and presidential candidate — Tsai Ing-wen (蔡
Tsai said she would comment when the KMT names its candidate.
Tsai said her role at present is to listen to the public and exchange views with them as part of her preparation for the election in January next year.
Legislative Deputy Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (
“He said what he said only because he was pressed too hard by the media,” Hung said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and CNA
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said.
There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake.
The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday.
The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays.
The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (
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