Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) heavyweights and members of the party’s Central Standing Committee have warned that the party’s southern support base has crashed through the floor and that the party could be on the verge of fragmenting.
According to a source within the KMT, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has grown even more distant from party bigwigs since the presidential election in January and has had little, if any, interaction with them.
One example is former KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄), who met Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in March. Despite Wu’s conveyance of the “one country, two areas” (一國兩區) rhetoric to Hu, Ma’s cold treatment of Wu in later months has been witnessed by several party members, the source said.
Wu’s emphasis at the press conference after the meeting that the message he had conveyed to Hu had Ma’s full approval and that he was “doing as I was asked to do” seemed to highlight that Wu was conveying a message from Ma, the source said.
“It’s very chilling to see those higher up in the party choosing people outside the party over established party systems,” the source said, quoting the political heavyweights, adding that they had also stated “in private to me a few days ago that the atmosphere within the party has changed and that the ‘cohesion and unity’ of the party was gone.”
Meanwhile, the source also said that some of the party’s Central Standing Committee members worried about the extra damage the ongoing bribery case of former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) would inflict on the party.
Lin was dismissed from the party after he was accused of taking a NT$63 million (US$2.15 million) bribe from Ti Yung Co-owner Chen Chi-hsiang (陳啟祥) to facilitate a slag and waste contract between Ti Yung and China Steel Corp.
In private statements, the source said, committee members had told them that the Lin scandal had seriously undermined the image of the KMT and if party officials were to become embroiled in another case, especially ones that are high up in the party hierarchy, “the results would be unimaginable.”
As Lin’s hometown is in southern Taiwan, committee members who had just returned from visiting the south said that the stance of citizens there in relation to the KMT was “staggeringly” negative, adding that if an adjective was needed to describe the party situation in the south, it would be “disastrous.”
Ma does not seem to understand the mindset of the general public and people are not listening to his continued calls against corruption, the source said.
“We’re going to lose control of things” if the issue is not taken care of, especially when distrust of Ma is common and pervasive, the source said, quoting the committee members.
The entire Cabinet, including Ma, have never encountered such a situation before and their handling of the Lin case shows that “they are panicking,” the source said, adding that the administration should change their thought patterns or there would be more serious issues to come.
‘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
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
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as