The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday remained tight-lipped about the venue for its party congress, despite confirmation from the Greater Taichung Government that the party has obtained a permit to hold an event at Taichung Stadium in Wuci (梧棲) on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10.
The time and venue for the KMT’s congress have been uncertain after the party canceled the event originally planned for Sept. 29 at National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall due to large-scale protests against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is also KMT chairman.
The Greater Taichung City Government confirmed on Monday that the KMT filed an application on Friday last week to use the stadium for a party event on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, and the city government has granted the party the permit.
The KMT’s Taichung City branch also obtained permits to host rallies around the stadium from Nov. 7 to Nov. 11, and from Nov. 14 to Nov. 18.
Despite obtaining the permits for the stadium and adjacent roads, both the KMT and Greater Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) of the KMT yesterday denied that the congress would be held at the stadium next month.
“The stadium is a public venue and anyone who follows the administrative procedures can rent the place. It is only one of the options for the venue of the party congress,” Hu said.
He said the city government has handled applications for the venue and adjacent roads in accordance with the regulations, adding that the city will enhance its police force to maintain security if any events are held.
KMT spokesman Yin Wei (殷瑋) said the party has not yet finalized the date and venue for the congress, and will announce the plan once confirmed.
The stadium is said to be a preferred venue option as the party held its congress at the venue in 2011.
The KMT also hopes to avoid large rallies by staying away from Taipei.
The KMT has sent part-time staff to obtain permits to use the road leading to Taipei’s Chungshan Hall in Yangmingshan on Nov. 1, to block any protests in the area should the party decide to hold its congress in the hall.
Civic groups have accused the KMT and Ma of failing to face public grievances about poor government performance, while some party members have urged Ma to resolve his dispute with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) over improperly lobbying allegations.
Former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) said yesterday that party members are concerned about the political rift between Ma and Wang, and urged Wang to apply with the party’s Integrity Committee to retain his party membership.
“Wang is a KMT member forever. I hope he will be able to resolve the issue with the committee and the committee should handle the case without any interference,” Wu said.
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but