The proposal for a joint KMT-PFP ticket for next year's presidential election featuring the parties' chairmen got a chilly reception from KMT heavyweights and pro-localization party legislators yesterday.
The KMT members said that, rather than the proposed pairing of their chairman Lien Chan (
The KMT members stressed that elections campaigns were not about paying deference to party seniority or leaders ambitions but about winning power and the party should field the most effective ticket to bring this about.
"The goal here is not to run on a ticket but to win an electoral victory," said KMT Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
Lien and Soong last month had pledged to field a joint ticket for the 2004 presidential election. However, debate over who will head the ticket and who will serve as the running mate has been a thorny issue in talks about inter-party cooperation.
Calling on both Lien and Soong to grasp an understanding what it really means "to let go," Wu said that the issue to consider was whether there is any combination of candidates other than Lien and Soong which might have a greater chance of winning.
"After all," added Wu, "both Lien and Soong did say that neither one of them thinks that each one alone is the only choice for the presidential position."
Taichung City Mayor Jason Hu (
Hu also encouraged Ma to seek the higher position he deserves.
Pro-localization KMT Legislator Shyu Jong-shyong (徐中雄) said that if debate continues to drag on over who will be the presidential candidate and who the running mate, the so-called KMT-PFP partnership will be heading for electoral defeat, since it will waste too much time that would better be devoted to campaign strategy.
Shyu also said that prolonged negotiation over the ticket might disgust voters who would see it as little more than an unedifying divvying up of the spoils of office.
KMT Legislator Chen Hung-chang (
When asked by media to comment on Chen's suggestion, Wang said "it's a joke, don't take it too seriously," while Ma restated his support for a Lien-Soong ticket and stressed the importance of KMT-PFP cooperation if the pan-blue alliance wished to win the election.
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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