Twelve legislators and 11 women were elected to the KMT's Central Standing Committee (CSC) yesterday but allegations persisted that the party's executive body continued to meddle in the elections.
Four former National Assembly deputies were also elected to CSC positions, giving more than half the seats to figures with a national profile. Ten were taken by former Cabinet members.
The election of 11 women members meant that the "protective quota" of 25 percent of CSC seats for women was exceeded.
PHOTO:LEE HUNG-MING, LIBERTY TIMES
In all, there are 18 new mem-bers, the other 13 being incumbents of the previous committee.
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) expressed satisfaction with the result, saying that it brought new hope to the party.
"With 31 members from various social levels and professional fields entering the CSC, the party will benefit from the input of a wide range of opinions in its policy-making process," Lien said.
He saw it as a milestone in the party's history that the CSC now includes 11 women. There were only three women on the previous CSC. Lien had nominated a vice-chairwoman on June 18, in a move interpreted as a symbol of the sincerity of the party's stated aim of promoting women.
He also said that the entrance of 12 lawmakers into the CSC was to be welcomed as likely to bring the party's policy-making machinery closer to public opinion.
Speaker of the Legislative Yuan Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) agreed with Lien, saying that the 12 lawmakers, who now occupy more than a third of CSC seats, would not fail to have their voices heard. There were five lawmakers in the previous CSC.
The first three to be elected to the new CSC were former Council for Economic Planning and Development chairman Chiang Ping-kun (江丙坤), former speaker of the National Assembly Chen Chin-jang (陳金讓) and female lawmaker Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順).
Yesterday's election was the first one in which all CSC positions had been open to a vote. About 80 Central Committee members were thus drawn into contention for the seats. A portion of vote-casting Central Committee members still complained about what they alleged was party meddling in the election.
"Despite the party executive's denial of involvement in efforts to influence the election, I have received a list of `designated' candidates. Why can't the party kick this bad habit?" said Chu Fong-chih (朱鳳芝), a female lawmaker who ran for a CSC seat but was defeated.
Wang Su-yun (王素筠) even accused party officials of lying, saying that their words did not match their deeds.
KMT secretary-general Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正) denied that the party had abused its power in order to influence results, saying that it had simply been "concerned" about certain candidates for whom it had engaged in "coordination" work.
"I also received at least three lists, the origins of which were unclear," Lin said.
He did admit, however, that the party had urged that certain candidates be elected, including Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫), chairman of the Chinese National Federation of Industries (中華民國全國工業總會) Kao Chin-yen (高清愿) and former Cabinet members Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄)and Wang Chih-kang (王志剛).
All of these candidates were elected be comfortable margins yesterday.
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
RSS