The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday confirmed that deposed KMT legislator Chang Sho-wen’s (張碩文) father had requested a registration form to run in the Yunlin County by-election, but declined to say whether he was qualified to do so.
Chang Sho-wen, who won a regional legislative election in Yunlin County in January last year, lost his seat earlier this month after the High Court found him guilty of participating in a vote-buying scheme organized by his father, Chang Hui-yuan (張輝元), and annulled the election result.
Chang Hui-yuan, the head of a local irrigation association, picked up a registration form at the KMT’s Yunlin branch on Wednesday, seeking to represent the party in the by-election.
When asked about his vote-buying case, Chang Hui-yuan said he had appealed the case and believed that the court would find him innocent.
KMT Organization and Development Committee director Huang Chao-yuan (黃昭元) said Chang Hui-yuan has not completed the registration procedure, but declined to say whether he would be qualified to represent the party given that he was found guilty at the first trial.
The revised version of the KMT’s “black gold exclusion clause” (排黑條款) states that members who are found guilty of corruption at their initial trial are not to be nominated in any elections.
The party also has the authority to deny any member’s application to run in an election if it finds that the individual would damage the party’s reputation.
KMT Yunlin branch director Hsu Shu-po (許舒博) said Chang Hui-yuan should not be restricted from running in the election because the party revised the clause in November last year, while Chang Hui-yuan was found guilty in October.
Huang said those who have claimed registration forms should register with the party by tomorrow to complete the registration process.
The KMT is scheduled to complete the nomination process on July 29.
Chang Hui-yuan is the only person so far to request a registration form, Huang said, adding that the party would not rule out canceling the primary in favor of nominating a candidate directly.
The Democratic Progressive Party has nominated Yunlin County Councilor Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) to run in the by-election. The by-election is scheduled for October.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
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
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,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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