Another Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker has declined to run on a KMT ticket for a legislative seat in southern Taiwan.
KMT legislator-at-large Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉) was expected by the party to run in Pingtung County, but is said to have turned down the offer.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported Su saying on Monday that since the KMT has traditionally performed weakly in Pingtung’s third electoral district, where the KMT wanted him to run for a legislative seat, the chance of winning is slim if a traditional “blue-green face-off” is played out.
He said that the party could cooperate with former Taiwan Solidarity Union secretary-general Huang Chao-chan (黃昭展), — who plans to run as an independent — following a model set up by non-affiliated Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). While Ko ran as an independent, his victory over KMT candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) in last year’s nine-in-one elections is widely believed to have been partly due to the Democratic Progressive Party’s “polite yielding.”
Huang would be facing DPP Legislator Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) if he steps into the ring.
Su did not respond to telephone calls from the Taipei Times yesterday.
Reports have said the KMT faces a predicament in that few want to represent the party in central and southern Taiwan, prompting the party to consider disciplinary action against members who do not abide by party decisions.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said the problem is for party headquarters to deal with.
“Is coercion going to work [when it comes to] elections?” Wang asked.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) said on Sunday that KMT Pingtung chapter director Liao Wan-ju (廖婉汝) said Su promised to join the race in the district, and party headquarters “has a serious problem” with his decision to drop out.
It does not rule out the possibility of party discipline, Liao said.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of