The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship race heated up yesterday when Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"To avoid further spreading of rumors and damage to the image of the party, we will not rule out the possibility of filing a lawsuit, although we do not want to see this happen," said KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who also serves as a spokesperson for Wang's campaign headquarters.
While most pan-blue supporters are pinning their hopes on the election -- scheduled for Saturday -- and wish to see a transformation of the party, Hung said that she was disappointed to see how the campaign, which was supposed to be a "gentleman's competition," was turning out to be an exercise in mudslinging.
"If Ma wins the election, but it comes at the expense of the party's reputation, how does he expect the party to win in the long run?" she asked. "I am calling on Ma and his camp to exercise wisdom, rationality and composure."
Hung made the remark in response to accusations made earlier yesterday by KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (
Producing what he called "evidence," Wu said that Wang was suspected of vote-buying by offering cash between NT$500 and NT$3,000 or free gifts to solicit votes from potential supporters. Wang spent over NT$30 million (US$956,000) over the past few weeks offering 6,000 free meals to potential voters, Wu said.
Wu also claimed that he had received information from party employees in the KMT's Yunlin chapter that there are over 8,000 party members registered there who do not exist. Wu alleged that these false members could be used in the election to support Wang.
Wu said that he would submit related information to the party's election supervision committee for further investigation. The committee is scheduled to hold a meeting today.
Meanwhile, the Wang camp yesterday vowed to re-apply after Taipei City police yesterday rejected an application filed by Wang's camp to use Ketagelan Boulevard to hold a campaign rally on the eve of the election.
Citing the Assembly and Parade Law (
About a year ago, Ma, in the capacity of city mayor, expelled pan-blue supporters illegally gathering on Ketagelan Boulevard protesting the election-eve assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).
Wang's move to hold a rally was widely seen as an attempt to stir up resentment among pan-blue supporters against Ma because of the incident.
also see story:
Editorial: KMT's dirty laundry aired again
A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company that has lost control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal said it is seeking US$2 billion of compensation in damages from Panama over its “illegal” takeover of the ports. Panama Ports Co, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings (長江和記實業), on Friday said in a statement that it is demanding the sum under international arbitration proceedings that it had already started. The Panamanian government last week seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on each end of the Panama Canal, after the country’s Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
RSS