The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Evaluation and Discipline Committee last night approved a suggestion by the party’s Integrity Committee to immediately suspend the party membership of Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞).
Juan Kang-meng (阮剛猛), head of the KMT’s Evaluation and Discipline Committee, said the evaluation committee would now discuss how long Kuang’s membership should be suspended for.
The Integrity Committee suggested last night that the KMT should suspend Kuang’s membership after over three hours of discussions.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
“[Kuang’s incident] has attracted a lot of attention in society and seriously damaged the KMT’s reputation ... The committee suggested that Kuang’s membership should be suspended,” Chang told reporters last night after the meeting at the KMT headquarters.
Kuang, who drew widespread criticism for failing to cancel a 13-day trip to Europe ahead of Typhoon Fung-wong, bowed again in apology to her constituents after facing the KMT Integrity Committee yesterday over the nature of her trip.
Seeking to gain a better understanding about Kuang’s trip, the Integrity Committee moved its regular meeting from Aug. 19 to yesterday.
Kuang arrived at KMT headquarters at about 6:30pm, but remained tight-lipped as she was swamped by reporters.
After spending more than two hours explaining her trip to the committee, Kuang bowed twice to apologize and asked that the public give her another chance during the remainder of her term.
“I apologize again for causing negative reactions and damaging the KMT’s reputation ... I will cooperate 100 percent with the investigations,” she said last night at KMT headquarters.
“I hope the public will give me a second chance. I will spare no effort to finish my term and fight for the best interests of Taitung,” she said.
Kuang was named an interested party on Tuesday after being questioned by Taitung prosecutors amid accusations that she had wasted more than NT$10 million (US$325,000) in public funds on eight overseas trips since she assumed her position in 2006.
Kuang denied that taking 10 township heads on the 13-day European tour was designed to secure their support in next year’s local government elections.
The Taitung County Government’s budget for government staffer inspection trips abroad had been decreasing since she assumed office, Kuang said.
Earlier yesterday, Kuang surprised many by showing up at the county government office after Taitung County Government Secretary-General Wu You-chin (吳有進) had earlier told reporters that the commissioner had called in to ask for leave.
Kuang declined to answer questions from the media as she headed for her office.
She later held an extraordinary meeting with senior officials at the county government before flying to Taipei.
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) declined to comment on the controversy surrounding Kuang yesterday when approached by reporters.
However, Wu said earlier this week that Kuang should cancel her trip to the Beijing Olympics and other planned trips.
“The most important thing is how the public feels ... As far as I know, she will not leave the country again before the end of the year,” he said.
Asked if she was worried about her chances of being re-elected next year, Kuang said she fully respected the choice of Taitung residents.
The KMT’s Integrity Committee has no authority to investigate possible abuses of power or corruption.
Juan said yesterday that the Integrity Committee was an independent body formed to look into the behavior of members.
According to KMT party regulations, a party member is subject to disciplinary action from the party if convicted of a crime.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS