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"I originally made the suggestion in April.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Ma originally made the proposal that an honorary chairmanship position be created and then given to Lien in April, when he formally announced his candidacy.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.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RSS