The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday expelled four party members for running for city mayor or county commissioner as independents in the Nov. 24 nine-in-one local elections.
Members of the KMT Party Disciplinary Committee reached a unanimous decision at a meeting in Taipei to expel Chiayi City Council Speaker Hsiao Shu-li (蕭淑麗), former KMT legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環), former Taitung County commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) and former Taipei Labor Department commissioner Su Ying-kuei (蘇盈貴), the party said in a press release.
Hsiao has declared her intention to run for Chiayi mayor as an independent, after the KMT picked former Chiayi mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) as its candidate, while Yang is to run for Taoyuan mayor as the KMT reiterated its support for its official candidate, KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖).
As for Kuang and Su, they have decided to run as independents against the KMT’s Taitung County commissioner candidate Rao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴) and Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) respectively.
According to KMT regulations, party members whose memberships are revoked or who are expelled cannot return to the party until after the statutory periods of three years and six years respectively. Those allowed to rejoin the KMT have to wait at least a year to sign up for a party primary.
Asked about the KMT’s decision, Hsiao said she does not think that being expelled from the party would affect her electoral prospects, because she believes she could win over the hearts of voters with her well-devised plans for the city.
“Being an independent would only broaden my mind and the road ahead,” Hsiao said, adding that she had submitted her application to withdraw from the party in February.
Su said he does not side with any political camp because he is a citizen and that he belongs only to the people.
Yang said she had declared her decision to quit the party a long time ago, adding that she decided to run for Taoyuan mayor after seeing how people have suffered from the longstanding blue-green feud.
As of press time yesterday, Kuang had no comment.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Wu-hsiung and CNA
‘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
RSS