The KMT's acting chairman, Vice President Lien Chan (
Speaking to party members in Taoyuan County yesterday, Lien said the KMT would soon start a review of its organization, personnel and operations.
Lien took over as acting chairman after President Lee Teng-hui (
The vice president was upbeat in yesterday's speech, despite having finished a distant third in the election. He extolled the KMT's contributions to Taiwan's development, saying that the party had brought an economic miracle, not to mention democracy, to the country during its 54 years in power.
The party now urgently needs to reform to keep up with the changing times, Lien said, while confirming that a significant number of members would be disciplined in the wake of the election defeat.
The party's provincial office is set to submit to party headquarters tomorrow a list of members islandwide who violated party rules during the election.
The first wave of the planned purge will focus on county and city councilors and more senior party members.
Senior figures on the list reportedly include Taichung County council speaker Yen Ching-piao (
The second wave of expulsions is expected to seep quickly down to the township and grassroots levels.
According to a statement from the party's provincial office, the purge will be necessary "even if it leaves the party with only 500,000 members in the end."
The turmoil which has engulfed the party since its election defeat continues, meanwhile, to generate intense speculation in the media over who will step up to challenge for top leadership positions in the wake of Lee's departure.
Former Kaohsiung mayor Wu Dun-yi (
He was apparently referring to growing demands for direct election of the party chairman by the membership.
Wu was seen as one of the KMT's brightest young stars until losing the Kaohsiung mayorship to the DPP's Frank Hsieh in December, 1998.
He did not stump for any candidate during the election, despite earlier rumors that he was siding with independent candidate James Soong (
When asked if he would stay in the KMT and participate in party reforms, Wu said, "I won't touch this issue for now."
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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