The legal case concerning Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng’s (王金平) party membership, which some expected to top the agenda at the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee (CSC) meeting yesterday, was not dealt with, although Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who is acting KMT chairman, did say dropping the lawsuit might discredit the party’s Central Evaluation and Discipline Committee.
Wang took the KMT to court in September last year after the committee revoked his membership amid allegations Wang tried to influence justice officials to help an opposition legislator in a legal case.
The Taiwan High Court in September ruled in Wang’s favor, upholding a district court decision in May ruling that Wang still holds his KMT membership. The party filed an appeal.
Photo: Chen I-chuan, Taipei Times
The meeting yesterday was the first after the party’s defeat in the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 29. Many party members, KMT legislators included, had expected Wu, as the acting chairperson, to announce a retraction of the lawsuit against Wang to demonstrate party solidarity.
More than 20 CSC members said at the meeting that the party should drop the case, but Wu decided to hold off on reviewing the proposal.
Earlier yesterday, Wu said he had told Wang that his case would not be discussed at the meeting since “a lot has to be taken into account.”
“The High Court’s ruling has cast doubt on the established authority of the discipline committee, so dropping the lawsuit would be tantamount to endorsing the doubt,” Wu said. “If it did drop the case, how is the KMT to handle violations of party disciplines in the future?”
“We have asked divisions to review the matter, evaluating the effect of a possible retraction and whether it would affect the credibility of the discipline committee,” he added. “The opinions offered by the experts are to be collected for the new party chairperson’s consideration.”
“It would not be appropriate for an acting chairperson to make such a big decision,” Wu said.
Wu said that during his term as acting chairman, which is to last about a month, three major issues need to be settled: a review of the party’s performance in the elections; a public and fair party chairperson by-election; and a discussion about and nominations for council speaker and legislators.
Separately, Wu reiterated that he would not run for the chairmanship and, when asked about the rumor that he would run for president in 2016 with Wang being party chairman, Wu said he had “never heard such reports,” a response echoed by Wang.
Wang also denied that he would join the race for the chairperson role, saying that he had not thought about it.
Wu and Wang said they were open to any candidate for party chairperson after reporters said many have been urging New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) to stand.
The KMT set Jan. 17 as the date for the chairperson election.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS