The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that it does not plan to hold polls targeting only pan-blue supporters as a measure to assure party loyalty in the candidate nomination process for the next election, and insisted that it respects freedom of expression after party members voiced their objection to KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei’s (羅淑蕾) open criticism of the party.
Lo, a former member of the People First Party, has been a regular critic of the KMT and President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration. She often questions the KMT’s policies in political TV talk shows and has voted against the party line on a joint motion — initiated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union — to immediately stop construction of the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮).
KMT Deputy Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who also serves as the deputy legislative speaker, on Tuesday accused Lo of undermining the party’s reputation with her criticism of party policies. She said yesterday that many grassroots supporters shared her concern about Lo’s outspokenness, and called on the KMT to step up its efforts to increase the party’s forward momentum.
KMT Central Standing Committee member Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) joined Hung in questioning Lo’s loyalty to the party, accusing her of being an opportunist who tries to please voters in both the pan-blue and pan-green camps.
He suggested that the KMT make adjustments to its election nomination mechanism and hold polls among only KMT supporters to nominate members with a solid support base in the pan-blue camp.
“It’s okay to question the mistakes the government makes, but non-stop criticism of your own party is an act of opportunism to please voters … Holding polls during the nomination process would eliminate party politicians who are popular outside the pan-blue camp and stop opportunists,” he said.
Lo won the party primary in 2011 over former KMT legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) and stood for the party in the legislative election in Taipei City’s Zhongshan District (中山). Chiang had complained about the primary mechanism that allowed Lo to win the polls in the district, which has a large pan-green support base, and questioned Lo’s loyalty to the KMT.
KMT spokesman Yin Wei (殷瑋) yesterday called for party unity in response to disputes over Lo’s behavior, and said the party does not have plans to change its mechanism for the primaries.
“We respect party members’ freedom of expression, although we expect them to discuss the party’s performance based on facts … The KMT has not yet launched the primary mechanism for the next election, so there are no plans to hold polls that exclude pan-green supporters,” he said.
Lo yesterday dismissed criticism of her behavior and said the party has largely ignored her support of government policies, such as imposing a capital gains tax.
‘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 wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
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
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
RSS