Taking their cue from President and KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui's (
KMT heavyweights yesterday also successively stepped into the fray by heaping criticism on Soong, deciding not only to enlarge the scope of punishment to include members of Soong's staff, but also blasting his ambitions as being like that of "Hitler."
The KMT's Evaluation and Discipline Committee yesterday convened a special meeting to finalize the final terms and procedures for Soong's expulsion, which had been expected for months but which had been delayed after the 921 earthquake. Under instructions from KMT Secretary-General John Chang (
"I was asked by ... Chang to work overtime as of early yesterday morning, in an effort to expand the scope of punishment,'' said Chien Wei-chang (
In the light of the evidence pointing to Soong's decision to act against party wishes, Chien said, apart from Soong's expulsion, the KMT was determined to rescind the memberships of Soong's close associates in the party.
The `black list' includes former vice provincial governor Wu Jung-ming (
Expulsion, unlike rescinding party membership, has to be passed by the party's central standing committee, and a return to the party has to wait two years. Rescinding membership, on the other hand, involves only informing the KMT chairman, and a wait of one year before a reinstatement of membership is possible.
"Soong used to say that as a member of the party, he had no choice but to follow its resolu-tions. However, now that the KMT has [already] made its resolution to choose vice president and KMT Vice Chairman Lien Chan (
"Under article 46, clause 1 of the party charter, Soong violated the party's [nomination] resolu-tion, and the members of the evaluation and disciplinary committee have unanimously agreed to expel Soong from the KMT.''
Reacting to the decision, Soong yesterday expressed deep sorrow over the party's resolution to dismiss him and to repeal his close staff members, attacking the motion as being "disconnected with grass-roots opinion."
"The expulsion came as a result of manipulation by a few high-ranking officials. The KMT has already broken away from the voice of the public,'' he said.
"I love my party. Even though KMT has determined to expel me, I have no plan to form any new party to cope with the situation.''
Chien also confirmed that the punishment against Soong's camp would be continued, but that the committee had no timetable for fulfilling that assignment.
"When can we accomplish collecting enough evidence, we will deal with the problem,'' Chien said.
One participant said during the committee meeting, former grand justice Lee Cheng-peng (
However, the recommendation was opposed by Hsieh Wen-I (謝?撣q), the deputy chairman of the committee, saying Soong's case was different than that of Lin Yang-Kang (林洋港) and Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), both of whom once served as KMT vice chairman.
"Lin and Hau both contravened party discipline by campaigning to help the New Party in 1996, the first popularly-elected presidential election," Hsieh said.
But this time, Soong himself is running for the presidential seat. The scenario is much more serious than that of Lin and Hau in 1996,'' Hsieh said.
Chen Kang-chin (
Chen strongly criticized Soong as being "draped in nonpartisan dress, but acting like the New party, and yelling the DPP's slogans. His behavior, however, is similar to Hitler's.''
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
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