The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has announced it has resumed its legal battle against Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), a KMT source said yesterday, and has appealed against a Taipei District Court ruling that allowed Wang to retain his party membership.
After taking advice from lawyers, as well as considering the long-term future of party policy, the KMT has been left with no alternative but to appeal, the source said, adding that the decision was made out of consideration for party rules and discipline.
The source said the KMT questions the rationale behind the Taipei District Court ruling on March 19, which said that for an individual to be stripped of their party membership, a conference of national delegates must be held in which at least half of the total number of delegates must be in attendance and more than two-thirds of these must agree on the action.
Photo: CNA
The KMT is a political party and cannot be viewed as an ordinary civic organization, the party source said, adding that the court ruling would mean previous individuals with revoked memberships would be able to claim that the party’s disciplinary committee’s decisions were invalid.
The source said this could have dramatic repercussions.
The source cited concern for the year-end “seven-in-one” local elections if individuals not nominated by the KMT decide to contest the effectiveness of party discipline and run in the elections.
The KMT has another five days to lodge its appeal in the Wang case.
The court — in deciding in Wang’s favor — had rejected the party disciplinary committee’s authority after the KMT stripped Wang of his party membership in September last year for allegedly using his influence to sway decisions in a legal case.
At the time, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that Wang had brought “shame on Taiwan’s judiciary and democratic history,” while also trying to remove him from the post of legislative speaker.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese