The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday suspended the rights of 12 party members participating in the Central Standing Committee (CSC) election for three months amid allegations of vote buying.
Twenty-eight of the committee's elected members tendered their resignations last week, accusing the party of selectively investigating allegations of vote-buying during the election campaign.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, held a provisional meeting on Thursday after the KMT revoked the election of two CSC members for bribing party delegates on Oct. 20. Ma on Monday finalized a plan to hold a CSC by-election on Nov. 14.
Juan Kang-meng (阮剛猛), director of the party's disciplinary committee, told reporters after the committee held a provisional meeting yesterday afternoon that although the 12 members denied they had given gifts, they allowed their supporters to do so and therefore undermined the image of the party. Eight out of the 12 were elected.
Juan said that yesterday’s decision capped a week-long investigation into the vote-buying allegations after the party nullified the election of two members on Oct. 20. Yesterday’s disciplinary measures were meant to reflect the party’s resolve to push for reform, he said.
As the party has publicized the rules on running in the year-end three-in-one elections and stumping for candidates, Juan said the committee also decided to mete out punishments to offenders.
The three-in-one polls refer to the election of city mayors and county commissioners, city and county councilors and township and village chiefs.
While the Hsinchu chapter reported a total of 36 members violating the party code to contest the December polls, Juan said they decided to revoke the memberships of some and suspend the party rights of others.
The committee revoked the memberships of Hsinchu County Commissioner Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金) and his wife Cheng Song Li-hua (鄭宋麗華) for stumping for Hsinchu County Council Speaker Chang Pi-chin (張碧琴), Juan said.
Chang was stripped of her membership for ignoring the party's warning to run in the race, as the party had already nominated KMT Legislator Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳) as its candidate.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) yesterday apologized after the suicide of a civil servant earlier this month and announced that a supervisor accused of workplace bullying would be demoted. On Nov. 4, a 39-year-old information analyst at the Workforce Development Agency’s (WDA) northern branch, which covers greater Taipei and Keelung, as well as Yilan, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, was found dead in their office. WDA northern branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who has been accused of involvement in workplace bullying, would be demoted to a nonsupervisory position, Ho told a news conference in Taipei. WDA Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said he would