The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday announced plans to appoint six new members, including Broadcasting Corp of China (BCC) chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), to its Central Advisory Committee.
The other five are former Straits Exchange Foundation vice chairman Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉); Tien Tsai-mai (田在勱), manager of Chung Yuan Christian University’s Executive Operation Office for Industry-Academia Cooperation; Chiu Kun-shuan (邱坤玄), a professor at National Chengchi University’s Graduate Institute of East Asia Studies; Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中); and foreign capital analyst Kirk Yang (楊應超).
The KMT said that it would make the proposal at its next National Congress.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, Jaw said that he has not chosen a running mate for the 2024 presidential election.
He was speaking at a BCC event on the first day of work after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Jaw, whose KMT membership application was recently accepted, has also said that he intends to run for party chairperson in this year’s election.
Jaw in 1993 left the KMT with a group of others to form the New Party.
Asked whether he would step down if former Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) decided to run for chairperson, Jaw said he believed that Han did not entertain such thoughts.
“Why else would he ask me to run, if he himself intended to?” Jaw asked.
Asked about Han’s recent Facebook posts on politics and government policy, Jaw said that people have their own opinions on national affairs, including Han, who is a KMT Central Standing Committee member and a former mayor.
Making such opinions known does not necessarily reflect an intent to run for public office, Jaw said.
Asked about the number of people contending for the position of chairperson — former Taipei County commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫), Han, former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), KMT Central Standing Committee member Sean Lien (連勝文) and KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) — Jaw said the more the merrier.
A party should not be afraid of having too many contenders, but should worry if it has none, Jaw said.
Asked about concerns that the pro-unification views of Hung, Chou and Han could “scare off” centrist or younger voters, Jaw said that everyone is entitled to their stance.
“One could say, that these views could draw out voters of that inclination,” he said.
Jaw has also made his intent to run for president in 2024 clear.
Asked if he would partner with Han, Jaw said that he had not talked with him about the issue, nor had he given it much thought.
Jaw said should both he and Han want to secure a KMT presidential ticket, they — and any other party members — could seek to be nominated though the same system.
The party should not be split every time there is an election, and a system with a fair set of rules should be implemented, Jaw said.
Should Han wish to arrange a meeting between himself, Jaw and Chiang, Jaw said that he would gladly attend.
More communication is good, and is certainly better than under-the-table maneuvering, he added.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS