With support for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in local cities and counties dipping following a series of corruption cases involving KMT officials, the party is considering involving its outgoing county and city heads in its inner workings, promising them better positions with the party depending on how they help out in the year-end elections.
Ongoing investigations into potential corruption in an affordable housing project in Taoyuan County’s Bade District (八德) and the Public Works Department of New Taipei City, and alleged bribery involving Keelung Council Speaker Huang Ching-tai (黃景泰), plus the indictment last year of then-Nantou county commissioner Lee Chao-
ching (李朝卿) on corruption charges, have reflected poorly on the KMT.
Photo: CNA
According to party sources, several county commissioners and city mayors have been placed on a watch list by the party due to sliding support ratings.
For example, Changhua County is regarded as an important battlefield, but disputes are getting in the way, the sources said.
KMT Legislator Lin Tsang-min (林滄敏), who won the party primary to run in the year-end Changhua County commissioner election, is reportedly at odds with Changhua County Commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源), who is said to prefer Changhua County Deputy Commissioner Ko Cheng-fang (柯呈枋) to be his successor, the sources said.
Lin reportedly met with KMT Deputy Chairman Tseng Yung-
chuan (曾永權), the party’s election manager, asking for intervention.
“As long as the battle is won, party central would ‘arrange’ a position,” the source quoted Tseng as saying, adding however that Tseng had also said he could not promise what the position would be.
The same issue has occurred in Miaoli County, where Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) is reportedly at odds with KMT Miaoli County commissioner candidate Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) after Liu’s “designated” successor lost the party primary, the sources said.
The KMT’s efforts in Chiayi City has also suffered some setbacks, according to the sources.
During a recent city government event, Chiayi KMT mayoral candidate Chen Yi-chen (陳以真) was asked not to wear a vest with the party logo and her name on it and was denied participation in a ceremonial lifting of a cloth from a plaque, the sources said.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲) wore a DPP vest on stage at the event.
The local campaign office is perplexed at the different standards, and there are voices within the party calling for a notice to be given to KMT Chiayi Mayor Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), the sources said.
Meanwhile, of the seven county commissioners and city mayors who are to leave their posts after the elections, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) is currently not favored within the KMT due to his criticism of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration’s policies and his support of requests such as medical parole for former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the sources said.
Huang, on the other hand, currently has the greatest chance to rise in the KMT, but if she fails to hold on to Chiayi City, it would be a large stain on her resume, the sources added.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
BIG YEAR: The company said it would also release its A12 chip the same year to keep a ‘reliable stream of new silicon technologies’ flowing to its customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said its newest A13 chip is to enter volume production in 2029 as the chipmaker seeks to hold onto its tech leadership and demand for next-generation chips used in artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance-computing (HPC) and mobile applications. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, also unveiled its A12 chip at its annual technology symposium in Santa Clara, California. The A12 chip, which features TSMC’s super-power-rail technology to provide backside power delivery for AI and HPC applications, is also to enter volume production in 2029, a year after the scheduled release of the A14 chip. The technology moves
RSS