After all the fuss about finding a nominee, the KMT central standing committee yesterday unanimously agreed to draft its chief of the party's Yunlin County branch, Chang Cheng-hsiung (
In assessing the nomination process, however, critics said it was pathetic to see the KMT having difficulty fielding a candidate.
Although few party colleagues are not optimistic about Chang's chances of winning the by-election, as evidenced by the fact that few congratulated him on his nomination, Chang seems confidant about his chances.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"The KMT is like a huge aircraft carrier. It may take longer to refuel than smaller craft, but once it gets going, the momentum is frightening,'' Chang said.
Following the refusal by Taipei District Court Judge Wang Pei-chih (
"I had no intention of taking part in the by-election, but as I have been nominated by the party, I will do my best to win,'' Chang said.
KMT legislator Hou Hui-hsien (
"It grieves me to see that the KMT has to come down to drafting the Yunlin county party branch chairman. I am pessimistic about the outcome,'' Hou added.
KMT legislator and local faction leader from the county, Liao Hwu-peng (
"I am afraid that the by-election could further damage the KMT in next year's presidential election,'' Liao added.
Julian Kuo (
"The Yunlin county by-election has become a skirmish in the developing presidential battle. On the surface, the KMT wants to appoint a candidate without Chang Jung-wei's mafia-like image. But under the table, it wants to pull Chang away from Soong's side by nominating a comparatively weak candidate,'' Kuo said.
"KMT headquarters is trying to earn points for its image and gain political advantage at the same time. If it fails to achieve its goal, it may find itself stuck in a deadlock,'' Kuo said.
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Donald Trump vowed to reward his supporters, while President William Lai said he was confident the Taiwan-US partnership would continue Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the US early yesterday morning, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts. With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. As of press time last night, The Associated Press had Trump on 277 electoral college votes to 224 for US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, with Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Michigan and Nevada yet to finalize results. He had 71,289,216 votes nationwide, or 51 percent, while Harris had 66,360,324 (47.5 percent). “We’ve been through so
RSS