Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) yesterday said he could not say for certain how many seats his party would win in November's five special municipality elections, but party members must have faith that they would prevail.
King said elections were like a sports competition and that no one knew what would happen until the very last minute.
“Indeed, there are two cities that are more difficult to win. They are Tainan and Kaohsiung,” he said in an interview with Singapore's Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao (聯合早報), which was published yesterday.
Elections for the heads of five special municipalities will take place on Nov. 27 in Taipei City, Sinbei City (the upgraded Taipei County), Greater Taichung (a merger of Taichung city and county), Greater Tainan (a merger of Tainan city and county) and Greater Kaohsiung (a merger of Kaohsiung city and county).
King said some party members were worried that he would step down if the party failed to win at least three seats. He always told them to rest assured because they would win.
“You just have to have faith. It is important,” he said.
On party reform, King said his job was to put into practice President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) plans for reform. Ma is also the KMT chairman.
“The concept is clear. We want the party to get rid of its negative image and get a brand new one,” he said. “The negative image includes vote-buying. When you ask people which political party buys more votes, chances are they will tell you it's the KMT.”
Asked whether the party's old guard would stand in the way of reform, King said the party seemed to be faring bettter than the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
King expressed concern over what he called “hate politics,” saying the DPP used to play the ethnic card and on tensions between Taiwan and China.
“They always portrayed China as a bully and that any KMT member with a similar background to Ma [Ying-jeou] will sell out Taiwan,” he said. “It's quite ridiculous.”
King said a person does not necessarily have to like Ma or his administration, but the person does not need to hate him.
“In a democracy, you can opt not to elect him in the next election, but you don't have to vilify him,” he said. “It shows the immature side of Taiwan's politics. This kind of hate politics is worrisome.”
In related news, the KMT said it would conduct polls on aspirants vying for the party's mayoral nominations in Taipei City, Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Tainan today and tomorrow.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Yang Shih-chiu (楊實秋), who will be competing in the polls for Taipei City, yesterday questioned the transparency of the process. He said he would not send anyone to observe the polls nor offer any opinions on the survey questions.
KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓), however, dismissed Yang’s concerns and urged party members to refrain from making groundless accusations.
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
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS