Conflict within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) intensified yesterday as party members in Kaohsiung launched a petition demanding the party fire two party top officials for "intentionally" damaging Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng's (王金平) reputation.
Signed by local politicians and grassroots groups, including Kaohsiung County Council Speaker Hsu Fu-sen (許福森), vice speaker Lu Shu-mei (陸淑美) and a number of councilors in Kaohsiung, Taichung and Hsinchu, the petition accused KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Deputy Secretary-General Liao Feng-de (
They also said they would not campaign for the party's candidates in next year's elections if the party refused to fire the two.
PHOTO: CHEN WEI-JEN, TAIPEI TIMES
"Wu and Liao have created conflict in the party by slandering Speaker Wang and treating him as an enemy. They have destroyed party unity and should be replaced for the sake of the party's victory in [next year's] elections," the petition said.
Reports have circulated that Wu, Liao and KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
While Wang appears confident that the party would support his reelection bid, Liao said earlier this month that Wang should prove his achievements and follow party procedures in winning the party's nomination.
Wu Den-yih, on the other hand, allegedly pressured Wang, a distant relative of Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen (
Dissatisfied with the friction within the party, pro-Wang members urged Wu Poh-hsiung in the statement to fire Wu Den-yih and Liao, saying they would refrain from joining campaign activities if the party failed to do so.
Wu Poh-hsiung dismissed the threat, insisting that party unity was the KMT's priority.
"We need to join forces and fight our opponents ... I will not listen to any mischief-makers now," he said yesterday after attending the Hakka festival at Taipei City Hall.
The party chairman said the petition was signed by only a handful of members and denied holding Wang back.
"The KMT will always support Speaker Wang ... All party members should attack our opponents only," he said.
KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) lauded Wu Den-yih and Liao's efforts in campaigning for party candidates, saying the party saw no reason to ask them to step down.
Wang declined to comment when approached by reporters yesterday.
KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (
KMT caucus whip Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍) was more optimistic. She said the relationship between Wu and Wang might not be as bad as the media had speculated because she had never heard Wang complain about Wu Den-yih.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56