The KMT elected members of its Central Committee and Central Standing Committee yesterday -- with a growing number of lawmakers filling important seats within the party.
In the election of the party's 31 core Central Standing Committee seats, 16 went to lawmakers. Of the 60 lawmakers who stood in the race for Central Committee, 58 were elected. The results of the elections were widely seen as a sign of the growing importance of lawmakers to the party.
Following the KMT's loss in last year's presidential election, the Legislative Yuan has become the party's last source of power. Yesterday's congress was also an important step for the party as it prepared for the year-end legislative elections.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"The KMT will rise up again and take back power," Chairman Lien Chan (
But not every lawmaker was satisfied with the elections. KMT lawmaker Chen Hsueh-hseng (
Chen accused the party of using a "suggestion" list for the election that identified 25 members the party's top leadership wanted to see chosen as among the group's 31 members. "The KMT continues to follow the practices of the past," Chen said angrily.
Lien sat nearby with a serious and stern look on his face. Chen was not elected to the central standing committee, though he placed 30th in the standing committee elections.
Party secretary Lin Feng-cheng (
In the election of 210 Central Committee members yesterday morning, KMT poster boy and Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma garnered more than 1,000 votes, setting the tongues wagging that the mayor may be a possible candidate to represent the party in the 2004 presidential election.
But Ma shrugged off the results yesterday. "The most important thing to the party is how to unite, and my position in this competition is really not important," he said.
Members close to ex-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) were low in the rankings. Because Lee is backing a new, rival party, the performance of party members who have close ties to the former president drew attention.
Liu Tai-ying (
Some said Liu's placing indicated that the KMT was attempting to eliminate Lee's influence from the party, but Liu offered a different explanation for his showing.
"I'm glad to be elected, since I hardly promoted myself at all for the election," Liu said. "I don't know who those members of Lee's faction really are," he said, coyly.
While Lee's faction was pushed away from the party's center stage, Chiang Kai-shek's (
The illegitimate son of late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), John Chang (章孝嚴), finished fifth in the elections with 896 votes and plans to run for the year-end legislative elections. Chiang's daughter-in-law, Chiang Fang Chih-yi (蔣方智怡), an overseas delegate, finished 21st in the election.
Also See Story:
KMT failure may mean the end of Lien
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft