In the latest and perhaps most drastic attempt to boost support for his party with less than 48 hours remaining before the local elections, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he will resign as chairman if the KMT fails to get at least 11 candidates elected.
"If the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wins a majority in the elections, it means that the KMT is not good enough. I will resign as party chairman if the KMT fails to secure at least half of all seats in the elections," he said.
Eight cities and counties are currently under KMT control. As the party did not nominate any candidates in Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, by referring to "half of the seats," Ma apparently meant winning the election in at least 11 cities and counties.
Ma, who doubles as Taipei mayor, made the announcement yesterday at a press conference titled "Vote for yourself, be responsible for history" at the campaign headquarters of the KMT's Taipei County commissioner candidate, Chou Hsi-wei (
While the elections are being held to appoint new county commissioners and mayors, Ma urged voters to view the poll as a chance to cast a vote of no confidence in the DPP government.
"The DPP achieved nothing during its five years as the ruling party, and can only boost its support with smear campaigns and bribery," Ma said.
Liao Feng-teh (廖風德), head of the KMT's organization and development committee, said yesterday that the party's final strategy was to spur on "all pan-blue voters" to support the camp's candidates with "shocking" measures, especially in areas like Taipei, Ilan, Nantou, Changhua, Yunlin and Pingtung counties and Chiayi City.
Meanwhile, stepping up pressure on the DPP's candidate for Taipei County, Luo Wen-chia (羅文嘉), Chou's team yesterday played a video which allegedly proves that Luo paid people to participate in a DPP campaign rally on Sunday.
The video showed someone giving away money on a bus.
"After double-checking the bus company's service list, we are sure that the bus took passengers from Luchou County to the DPP's rally last Sunday," People First Party Legislator Lee Yung-ping (
KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) said the Chou team has reported the matter to the Banciao District Prosecutors' Office, and urged the prosecutors to complete their investigation as soon as possible.
The video was the pan-blue camp's latest piece of "evidence" allegedly proving that Luo's team had been involved in large-scale vote-buying at the DPP rally last Sunday. They claim that Luo's team paid each rally participant NT$150.
As of press time, the Banciao District Prosecutors' Office had subpoenaed 17 members of Luo's campaign team but had not yet searched his campaign office.
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
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in
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