A small group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegates yesterday showed boxes of gifts they claimed to have received during the recent Central Standing Committee (CSC) election to protest the party's decision to punish only elected members in its bribery probe
The delegates from Yilan County brought the gifts, ranging from bottles of red wine to boxes of tea, orchids and soy sauce, to KMT headquarters in Taipei. They were led by the head of Jiaosi Township (礁溪), Lin Cheng-sheng (林政盛), who said each delegate received at least 50 gifts from almost every committee candidate.
“Everyone was sending gifts, but only Yang Chi-hsiung (楊吉雄) from Yilan was punished for bribery. We have come here today to protest the KMT's poor handling of the investigation,” Lin said in front of KMT headquarters.
The KMT's Evaluation and Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday revoked the elected status of Yang and Chiang Da-lung (江達隆) for bribing party delegates.
Yang was found to have sent fish worth NT$120 via a home delivery service, while Chiang sent red wine to delegates.
Both Yang and Chiang denied bribing delegates, but neither showed up at party headquarters yesterday. The protesters also declined to reveal the names of other CSC members who gave gifts, and took the gifts with them when they left.
Juan Kang-meng (阮剛猛), director of the party's disciplinary committee, questioned the intention of the protesters for refusing to leave the gifts as evidence.
“We don't know whether those gifts were sent by CSC members, or whether those protesters were delegates. We are skeptical of the intention of those behind this show,” he said.
Juan said the disciplinary committee would continue to probe bribery allegations and accept reports from KMT members. Disciplinary action will be taken against those found to have bribed delegates, he said.
CSC member Chen Ding-yun (陳釘雲) said sending gifts to delegates during a CSC election was a “historical glitch,” and said vote distribution was a worse problem during CSC elections.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), in his capacity as KMT chairman, yesterday praised the disciplinary committee for investigating the bribery allegations and reiterated his pledge to transform the KMT into a clean and responsible party.
“The end of the 18th national convention is the beginning of party reform ... We must let members and the society know about our determination to push for reform,” Ma said while presiding over his first CSC meeting after assuming the chairmanship.
Ma promised to seek closer cooperation between the government and the party, making the KMT a “great party” and his administration a “powerful government.”
He also pledged to turn the KMT into a party of action and asked party legislators to pass the fiscal budget for next year, as well as the budget for post-Typhoon Morakot reconstruction work.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party panned the KMT for only picking on minor cases of bribery, while turning a blind eye to those who allegedly gave out more expensive gifts.
“If the KMT is willing to penalize those who handed out salted fish as a bribe, what should they do with those who gave out luggage, wine and blankets?” DPP Spokesman Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) asked.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS