One day after mayor and county commissioner elections, attention turned yesterday to next year’s special municipality elections, with Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) urging the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to begin the nomination process and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) remaining mum on whether she would stand for election.
The five municipalities holding elections next December are Taipei City, Taipei County — which will be upgraded and renamed Sinbei City (新北市) — and a merged Taichung County and City, Tainan County and City, and Kaohsiung County and City.
Chou, who early last month said he would run for the top job of Sinbei City, said yesterday the KMT should begin preparing for primaries as soon as possible, preferably after the Lunar New Year.
NO NEGOTIATIONS
Chou said the nominees should not be selected through internal party negotiations.
Chou, whose approval ratings have been consistently low according to various polls, made the remarks in response to questions about a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday saying the KMT planned to nominate Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) in Sinbei City.
KMT headquarters yesterday said it was not yet time to think about the primaries.
“Our first priority is to look at the nomination system,” KMT Spokesman Lee Chien-jung (李建榮) said, adding that nominating the right people is half the battle.
The incumbent party in a county or city cannot count on winning, he said. Citing Taipei County as an example, he said before Chou was elected, it was long governed by the DPP, but that did not stop Chou from winning.
As the DPP could nominate former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) in Sinbei City, the KMT must nominate someone who can defeat him to “secure the beachhead” for Ma ahead of 2012, Lee said.
KEY RACE
Judging from the size of Sinbei City, Lee said the “consequences will be severe” if the KMT loses it.
“The KMT cannot afford a split [in the vote], as the DPP’s support base is similar [in size] to the KMT’s,” he said.
On two legislative by-elections to be held next month and four more next year to fill vacancies left by winners in Saturday’s polls, Lee said the KMT would do its best to prevent the DPP from winning enough seats to propose a recall of the president.
Meanwhile, at a separate setting yesterday, Su and Tsai were tight-lipped about their prospects for next year’s polls.
Su said he would respect the party’s nomination and public opinion, while Tsai said “it depends on the overall mapping and planning.” Neither Su nor Tsai elaborated.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS