The KMT yesterday came out in support of members accused of vote-buying in the recent election of the chairman for the Provincial Farmers' Association (
On Monday, several DPP law-makers alleged that KMT officials had attempted to use cash to influence the outcome of the election for the association's chairman, who wields hefty influence over local politics.
The allegation has irked the KMT, which is scrambling to alter its image as a corrupt political party -- an image some believe cost the party the presidential election last year.
"It's deplorable that the DPP should allow its lawmakers to abuse their speech immunity and fabricate charges against rival parties," KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"The practice, if left unchecked, marks a tragedy for democracy."
At stake are five to 10 legislative seats of the Provincial Farms' Association and its 200-plus branch offices nationwide are poised to help secure in December, said DPP lawmaker Lin Chung-mo (林重謨).
According to Lin, leaders from these associations are well aware of how to make use of illegitimate funds, and have used such resources in campaigns before.
But KMT spokesman Wang Chih-kang (
Lin and several other DPP lawmakers alleged on Tuesday that the KMT had attempted to have Hsiao Teng-shih (蕭登獅),former chairman of the Chiayi City Farmers' Association, help persuade members of the provincial association to back KMT candidates for the positions of association chairman and executive general.
According to the legislators, Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Legislative Yuan speaker and KMT vice chairman, and Chao Shou-po (趙守博), director of the KMT's Organization and Development Committee, each visited Hsiao separately on April 15.
Hsiao, they said, was offered NT$40 million by both of them, but the offers were turned down.
The DPP legislators alleged that the KMT held a meeting to discuss the matter on April 23, when KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
On the same night, they alleged, Hsieh Kuo-ku (
The party spokesman urged the DPP leadership to discipline its "unruly" members, adding that his accused colleagues would consider taking the matter to the courts.
In reply, Lin, one of the four DPP lawmakers who brought the matter to public attention, said that he would welcome judicial intervention.
"The charge we made is based on solid ground," he held. "The investigators can then attest to our integrity."
Acting on tips, Lin and colleagues have accused the KMT of seeking to control the farmers' association by providing NT$150 million for eligible voters before the election on April 25. The bribe offer failed and the reformist camp claimed victory in the end.
To demonstrate its commitment to reform, the KMT published its nominees for legislative seats from Taipei County.
The roster consists of 12 people, most of whom are incumbent lawmakers. But Liu Ping-wei (劉炳偉), who has been plagued by financial problems, was not nominated.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
RSS