The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship race heated up yesterday when Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"To avoid further spreading of rumors and damage to the image of the party, we will not rule out the possibility of filing a lawsuit, although we do not want to see this happen," said KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who also serves as a spokesperson for Wang's campaign headquarters.
While most pan-blue supporters are pinning their hopes on the election -- scheduled for Saturday -- and wish to see a transformation of the party, Hung said that she was disappointed to see how the campaign, which was supposed to be a "gentleman's competition," was turning out to be an exercise in mudslinging.
"If Ma wins the election, but it comes at the expense of the party's reputation, how does he expect the party to win in the long run?" she asked. "I am calling on Ma and his camp to exercise wisdom, rationality and composure."
Hung made the remark in response to accusations made earlier yesterday by KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (
Producing what he called "evidence," Wu said that Wang was suspected of vote-buying by offering cash between NT$500 and NT$3,000 or free gifts to solicit votes from potential supporters. Wang spent over NT$30 million (US$956,000) over the past few weeks offering 6,000 free meals to potential voters, Wu said.
Wu also claimed that he had received information from party employees in the KMT's Yunlin chapter that there are over 8,000 party members registered there who do not exist. Wu alleged that these false members could be used in the election to support Wang.
Wu said that he would submit related information to the party's election supervision committee for further investigation. The committee is scheduled to hold a meeting today.
Meanwhile, the Wang camp yesterday vowed to re-apply after Taipei City police yesterday rejected an application filed by Wang's camp to use Ketagelan Boulevard to hold a campaign rally on the eve of the election.
Citing the Assembly and Parade Law (
About a year ago, Ma, in the capacity of city mayor, expelled pan-blue supporters illegally gathering on Ketagelan Boulevard protesting the election-eve assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).
Wang's move to hold a rally was widely seen as an attempt to stir up resentment among pan-blue supporters against Ma because of the incident.
also see story:
Editorial: KMT's dirty laundry aired again
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘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
RSS