Twelve legislators and 11 women were elected to the KMT's Central Standing Committee (CSC) yesterday but allegations persisted that the party's executive body continued to meddle in the elections.
Four former National Assembly deputies were also elected to CSC positions, giving more than half the seats to figures with a national profile. Ten were taken by former Cabinet members.
The election of 11 women members meant that the "protective quota" of 25 percent of CSC seats for women was exceeded.
PHOTO:LEE HUNG-MING, LIBERTY TIMES
In all, there are 18 new mem-bers, the other 13 being incumbents of the previous committee.
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) expressed satisfaction with the result, saying that it brought new hope to the party.
"With 31 members from various social levels and professional fields entering the CSC, the party will benefit from the input of a wide range of opinions in its policy-making process," Lien said.
He saw it as a milestone in the party's history that the CSC now includes 11 women. There were only three women on the previous CSC. Lien had nominated a vice-chairwoman on June 18, in a move interpreted as a symbol of the sincerity of the party's stated aim of promoting women.
He also said that the entrance of 12 lawmakers into the CSC was to be welcomed as likely to bring the party's policy-making machinery closer to public opinion.
Speaker of the Legislative Yuan Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) agreed with Lien, saying that the 12 lawmakers, who now occupy more than a third of CSC seats, would not fail to have their voices heard. There were five lawmakers in the previous CSC.
The first three to be elected to the new CSC were former Council for Economic Planning and Development chairman Chiang Ping-kun (江丙坤), former speaker of the National Assembly Chen Chin-jang (陳金讓) and female lawmaker Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順).
Yesterday's election was the first one in which all CSC positions had been open to a vote. About 80 Central Committee members were thus drawn into contention for the seats. A portion of vote-casting Central Committee members still complained about what they alleged was party meddling in the election.
"Despite the party executive's denial of involvement in efforts to influence the election, I have received a list of `designated' candidates. Why can't the party kick this bad habit?" said Chu Fong-chih (朱鳳芝), a female lawmaker who ran for a CSC seat but was defeated.
Wang Su-yun (王素筠) even accused party officials of lying, saying that their words did not match their deeds.
KMT secretary-general Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正) denied that the party had abused its power in order to influence results, saying that it had simply been "concerned" about certain candidates for whom it had engaged in "coordination" work.
"I also received at least three lists, the origins of which were unclear," Lin said.
He did admit, however, that the party had urged that certain candidates be elected, including Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫), chairman of the Chinese National Federation of Industries (中華民國全國工業總會) Kao Chin-yen (高清愿) and former Cabinet members Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄)and Wang Chih-kang (王志剛).
All of these candidates were elected be comfortable margins yesterday.
RESOLUTE BACKING: Two Republican senators are planning to introduce legislation that would impose immediate sanctions on China if it attempts to invade Taiwan US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday reaffirmed US congressional support for Taiwan, saying the US and “all freedom-loving people” have a stake in preventing China from seizing Taiwan by force. Johnson made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Sunday on US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week. In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to green-light a new US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.” “It’s a very good
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
US President Donald Trump yesterday said he would speak to President William Lai (賴清德) as his administration considers whether to move ahead with a US$14 billion weapons sale to Taiwan — a potential arms deal that has drawn criticism from China. “Well, I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody,” Trump told reporters yesterday when asked if he had any plans to call his counterpart, although he did not offer a time frame for when such a conversation could take place. Trump previously said he would speak to the person “that’s running Taiwan,” without specifying who he meant. “We have that situation very
RSS