Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Speaking in response to rumors in the media that there are people within the KMT acting to make such a proposal in the near future, Ma said that he plans to make the proposal in August at the KMT's National Congress meeting.
"I originally made the suggestion in April. It is likely I will propose it again at the meeting," Ma said yesterday in response to media rumors while campaigning for the party chairmanship.
Yesterday, a Chinese-language newspaper said there was movement within the KMT to propose the creation of an honorary chairmanship position, to pander to those hoping for Lien's re-election as party chairman.
While Lien has said on a number of occasions that he is not considering running in the July 16 chairmanship election, a growing number of KMT supporters have called on him to stay on.
Lien, the movement's supporters claim, is the only person who can keep the pan-blue camp united during the competition between chairmanship candidates Ma and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The newspapers yesterday reported that Ma might be planning to make the proposal in the KMT's weekly Central Standing Committee meeting this Wednesday.
Ma originally made the proposal that an honorary chairmanship position be created and then given to Lien in April, when he formally announced his candidacy.
Given Lien's contributions to the party during his time in office, Ma said in April, he would suggest that the KMT's party bylaws be amended to allow the creation of a honorary chairman position, which would be presented to Lien. At the time, the suggestion was seen as a move by Ma to pacify the fledgling movement rooting for Lien's continuation as chairman.
Speaking in response to these rumors, Wang said yesterday that he too considers an honorary chairmanship for Lien a good idea.
"There is that need," Wang told reporters yesterday.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate