Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Ma Ying-jeou (
After losing the KMT chairmanship election to Ma last month, Wang has refused to meet the Taipei mayor, and rejected Ma's offer to allow him to retain his vice chairmanship.
FOLLOWING ORDERS
Acting on outgoing Chairman Lien Chan's (
However, it is believed that Wang, who has described himself as "an eternal volunteer for the KMT," will firmly reject Ma's invitation to assume one of four vice chairmanships of the KMT, because Wang has already accepted an appointment letter to become the chairman of the KMT's Central Review Committee provided by Lien.
Ma, who yesterday went to Taitung County and Hualien County to meet with local party members, said that he was confident that the KMT would only be more united than before after the chairmanship election that Ma referred to as "big progress" for the party.
"I know that many of our members have felt ashamed to acknowledge their KMT membership, but now they are so proud of the party's progress," Ma said.
"It is allright that, no matter who you voted for in the chairmanship election -- whether you voted for Wang or Ma -- what counts is that the KMT is the only party you support," Ma said to the audience.
NEW GENERATION
In response to suggestions from some members of employing more of the young generation in the party, Ma said that he will appoint the leader of the KMT's youth group as one of the party's chairpersons, and stressed that cultivation of youthful elite will be a major issue for the KMT. Lien's son, Lien Sheng-wen (連勝文) and vice chairman Wu Po-hsiung's (吳伯雄) son, Wu Chih-kang (吳志剛), who have both been elected as KMT delegates in Taipei, are regarded as prospective candidates to lead the youth group.
The KMT's 17th national convention, which will run on Friday and Saturday, will hold a handing-over ceremony of the chairmanship and Ma will give his inauguration speech that will announce significant declarations, including the issues on the reforms of party affairs and party assets, recruitment of new members and visions to the future, according to Chan.
The convention will also approve the appointment of the vice chairpersons nominated by Ma and an election for the party's new central members will be held. The convention will also announce that Lien is going to serve as "honorary chairmen."
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,
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
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