Former People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (
Speaking at the KMT's headquarters after meeting with Lien, Lee said Lien had welcomed him back to the KMT.
"Chairman Lien has been paying close attention to me recently, and in our conversation, he also said that he welcomes me back to the KMT," Lee said.
Given that Lien's offer seemed heartfelt and that a large number of his supporters have expressed a wish to see him back in the KMT, Lee said he would consider his options and make a decision soon.
Lee left the KMT 12 years ago to be one of the founding members of the New Party. He later joined the PFP.
Despite his departure, Lee said his sister, PFP Legislator Diane Lee (
Diane Lee said yesterday that she plans to remain in the PFP and she wishes her brother well should he return to the KMT.
"To say that someone has changed, one needs to look at whether or not his principles have changed and not whether he has changed the party that he is in," she said in response to queries about her brother's political journey from one party to another.
The Lien meeting clarified some of the questions raised by Lee Ching-hua's departure from the PFP on Wednesday.
He announced his departure by saying that he was unhappy with the PFP's political direction. His departure came after rumors of conflict between him and the party over the PFP's dismal performance in last Saturday's National Assembly elections.
The PFP secured only 18 of the 40 seats it had targeted, leading Lee and several other legislators to openly criticize the party's leadership. They said it had been a mistake to have been friendly with the Democratic Progressive Party.
Adding to the PFP's troubles, media rumors yesterday had the party's holding a meeting to decide whether or not to discipline Chiu for criticizing the party.
Since Saturday, Chiu has said that he plans to leave the party and may form a new party.
Chiu said yesterday that he has already made his decision but is not yet ready to say what it is. He said he will make an announcement on Monday.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we