The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday reversed its decision to skip the primary process for the year-end Hualien County commissioner election amid pressure from would-be candidates upset at the party’s plan to nominate Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川).
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said last night that the party would hold a primary for the nomination to determine the candidate in a fair manner.
Yeh will make a decision within the next few days on whether he will stay at the DOH, Wu said, adding that more details about the primary would be announced soon and the nomination finalized by Sept. 12.
Wu made the remarks after meeting Yang Po-ren (楊博仁) of the party’s Hualien County branch and KMT Organization and Development Committee director Huang Chao-yuan (黃昭元) at party headquarters.
If Yeh, who earlier refused to participate in a primary, seeks the nomination, he would be willing to vie with the five contenders who registered for the primary before it was scrapped in May, Wu said.
Yeh’s rivals for the post had protested the decision to skip the primary and continued to campaign, raising concerns of a possible split in the vote.
The KMT is also trying to prevent splits in its support base in Taoyuan County, Hsinchu County and Taitung County.
In Taoyuan County, negotiations for the commissioner election failed, with KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚), son of Wu Poh-hsiung, and Taoyuan County Council Speaker Tseng Chong-yi (曾忠義) both saying they would run for the post.
The KMT will hold a primary today for the post.
In Taitung County, the KMT nominated Legislator Justin Huang (黃健庭) in a primary in May, but Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-cheng (鄺麗貞) said she would not be discouraged from running for re-election.
In Hsinchu County, Council Speaker Chang Bi-ching (張碧琴) has announced plans to run for the commissionership although the party has nominated KMT Legislator Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳).
Wu Den-yih said the party was having difficulties in these counties, but would continue negotiating between party members to prevent a split in the vote.
‘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