Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) was on Wednesday night nominated as a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Committee, despite the recent public outcry over the forced demolition of four houses in Miaoli County’s Dapu Borough (大埔).
On President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) nomination list, Liu was ranked 32th out of 210 nominees.
Keelung Mayor Chang Tung-rong (張通榮), who has low approval ratings, ranked 34th.
Photo: CNA
Liu ranked 77th in the previous nomination list presented by former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄).
The top five nominees included KMT legislators Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) and Yuang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), and KMT Central Standing Committee members Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教), Hung Yu-chin (洪玉欽) and Hsu Hsian-rong (許顯榮).
The nomination list sparked criticism from the opposition camp, with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) saying that Ma’s list will generate public dissent against the KMT, and his nomination of Liu as a Central Committee member reflected his ignorance of public opinion.
The KMT yesterday declined to comment on Ma’s nomination of Liu as a Central Committee member amid continuous protests against Liu and the county government.
A KMT official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, rebutted Ker’s criticism by insisting that the party’s nomination list did not guarantee that all nominees will be elected, as party delegates also have the right to nominate Central Committee members via petitions.
The official acknowledged that Ma’s nomination should guarantee election, but added that party members aiming for the Central Committee can still qualify to enter the race by obtaining signatures from at least six party delegates.
Former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien (連勝文), son of former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰), and KMT Central Standing Committee member Hsieh Kung-hung (謝坤宏), who failed in his attempt to compete with Ma in the KMT chairmanship election earlier this month, are also on the nomination list.
The KMT will elect 210 Central Committee members on Aug. 17, while party delegates will elect 32 Central Standing Committee members from those Central Committee members on Sept. 7.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
UNITED: The other candidates congratulated Cheng on her win, saying they hoped the new chair could bring the party to victory in the elections next year and in 2028 Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday won the party’s chair election with 65,122 votes, or 50.15 percent of the votes. It was the first time Cheng, 55, ran for the top KMT post, and she is the second woman to hold the post of chair, following Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who served from 2016 to 2017. Cheng is to succeed incumbent Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Nov. 1 for a four-year term. Cheng said she has spoken with the other five candidates and pledged to maintain party unity, adding that the party would aim to win the elections next year and
RSS