Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) stepped down yesterday after the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) larger-than-expected defeat in yesterday’s nine-in-one elections dealt a stiff blow to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who has staked his reputation on fostering closer ties with Beijing.
Jiang announced his resignation last night to take responsibility for the KMT’s loss of key posts. The party lost the Taipei mayorship it has held for 16 years its candidate, Sean Lien (連勝文), was beaten by independent Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who was backed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The DPP also wrested control of Greater Taichung and Taoyuan from the KMT.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Jiang told a press briefing that Ma has accepted his resignation and would soon announce his replacement, as well as other new members of the Cabinet.
“Today’s election results show that the people are dissatisfied with the administration’s policies,” Jiang said. “The people have spoken clearly through their votes. I have decided to assume political responsibility.”
Later yesterday, Ma, who is also KMT chairman, bowed to apologize for the results and vowed reforms.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
“I apologize to all [KMT] supporters for disappointing them. I have approved Premier Jiang’s resignation. At this moment, my responsibility is to put forward proposals to respond to people’s demands,” Ma told a press conference at 9pm.
However, Ma said the KMT would not be knocked down easily.
“It’s time to wipe away our tears and get back on our feet to continue to fight for Taiwan and for the Republic of China,” Ma said. “We have no reason to be pessimistic. What we should do now is think about how to advance reform. The party will continue to move the country forward and open it up.”
Before Ma arrived at the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei at 8pm, several party members gathered outside the building to demand that he resign as chairman.
Among the protesting KMT members was Sung Hung-lieh (宋宏烈), the son of Sung Shih-hsuan (宋時選), a late KMT heavyweight who was part of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) staff. Sung Hung-lieh said that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) should take over the party chairmanship.
The unprecedented defeat will make it hard for the KMT to hold onto the presidency in 2016 and the heavy losses point to an electorate that is turning increasingly against Ma’s forging of closer ties with China, political observers said.
Beijing refrained from giving an opinion about the results, saying only that it hopes peaceful bilateral relations will be sustained.
“We have taken note of the election results. It is hoped that compatriots on both sides of the [Taiwan] Strait will cherish the hard-earned fruits of cross-strait relations and work together to safeguard and continue to push forward the peaceful development of cross-strait ties,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said yesterday.
Additional reporting by CNA
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS