Following President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) announcement last week that he would run for the chairmanship of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), a number of KMT legislators yesterday expressed concerns about having to garner signatures from party members to support the president.
The lawmakers expressed discontent after Vice Legislative Speaker Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) said on Saturday he would seek assistance from every KMT legislator to help the president meet the signature threshold for the bid.
In accordance with KMT regulations, Ma must garner a minimum of 15,000 signatures for his bid to be valid.
“This is ludicrous. A person’s loyalty has nothing to do with the amount of time one spends seeking endorsements [from party members for the president],” KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) told reporters. “Frankly speaking, I am under a lot of pressure to garner signatures, especially so because I am a legislator-at-large. Where am I going to find party members to endorse the bid?”
Lo said the president should instead win the support of KMT members by proposing good policies.
KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) said some of his colleagues could take advantage of this opportunity to fawn on Ma.
KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) also criticized the requirement, saying it felt like the president controlled the Legislative Yuan.
“He’s demanding absolute obedience from the legislature, which goes against democratic principles,” Chiu said.
Registration for the election opens today and the election is scheduled for July 26.
Tseng, who said he would head Ma’s campaign office, is scheduled to collect the registration form on behalf of Ma today.
Tseng said the president would not require party lawmakers to boost the number of signatures.
KMT legislators Kuo Su-chun (郭素春), Liu Shen-liang (劉盛良) and John Wu (吳志揚) — the son of KMT Chairman Wu Poh-shiung (吳伯雄) — have all promised to help Ma pass the signature threshold, but denied they would use the opportunity to showcase their loyalty to the president.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) dismissed media speculation yesterday that Ma would attempt to extend his influence at the legislature by naming Wang a vice KMT chairman.
“President Ma is not yet chairman, so there is no need to worry about this,” Wang said.
“Wu [Poh-hsiung] is on friendly terms with me. He never tried to affect my decisions,” he said.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Hsiao Ching-tien (蕭景田) said he had reservations about Wang serving as a vice party chairman.
“This would influence his neutrality when he convenes cross-party negotiations,” Hsiao said.
“The KMT occupies the majority [of legislative seats]. If the legislature is to remain objective, shouldn’t the speaker be free of party influence?”
‘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 wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS