People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday dismissed media speculation that he would rejoin the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) after leaving the party seven years ago.
A story in yesterday's Chinese-language United Daily News quoted an anonymous KMT source as saying that Soong was seriously considering the possibility of returning following the KMT and PFP's completion of the coordination of their district legislative nominations.
The source said Soong and KMT Chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) have been in close contact with each other recently and have a certain implicit agreement on Soong rejoining the KMT, although neither of them have officially discussed the possibility.
Considering that six PFP legislators will run in next year's legislative poll on behalf of the KMT and that the two parties will nominate legislators-at-large together, the KMT and PFP have already in reality merged, which has left Soong with no other choice, another senior anonymous KMT source was quoted as saying in the article.
When approached by reporters at a memorial service, Soong said he could not understand why the United Daily News printed the story.
"The United Daily News always reports false news," he said. "In the past, it has launched personal attacks [against me]. Now it goes as far as reporting things that are far from the truth while at the same time urging the pan-blue camp to integrate," he said.
Soong said the newspaper should instead urge the KMT to detail its standpoints on issues such as joining the UN and the government's "desinicization" campaign or the public would all suffer from "schizophrenia."
Soong withdrew from the KMT to run as an independent in the presidential race in 2000 and established the PFP on March 31 the same year after losing in the election.
The KMT's presidential candidate, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), said a merger is the direction in which the two parties are heading.
"The KMT's door is always open," he said.
"After Wu became chairman, one of his ideals was to make as many friends as possible," said Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓), a spokesman for the KMT. "We respect and welcome an ally like Chairman Soong."
PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) said the rumor had been started by PFP lawmakers in an effort to secure the KMT's legislator-at-large nominations.
"They are eager to secure the nominations so that they started the rumor with the aim of showing loyalty to the KMT," Liu said without naming any names.
If the merger of the PFP and the KMT takes place before the coming legislative election, scheduled for Jan. 12 next year, the PFP would lose its legislator-at-large seats as well as its election grant.
Under the election grant system, each candidate is subsidized NT$30 for each ballot that exceeds one-third of the votes sufficient to win in the respective single-seat constituency, and political parties receive subsidies of NT$50 for each ballot exceeding 5 percent of the total number of valid votes.
PFP Legislator Lee Fu-tien (李復甸) said that the party members who spread the rumor were thinking only about themselves and had disregarded the party's interests.
"Chairman Soong has said many times that he is open to the possibility of a KMT-PFP merger and the party is still soliciting opinions. It's a pity that some people are in a hurry to make it happen so that they can run in the legislative election as part of the KMT," Lee said.
The report said PFP Legislator Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國) recently visited former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) to arrange the details of Soong's return. Feng was unavailable for comment yesterday.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS