Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) yesterday said the party, rather than going by rounds of applause, is not ruling out voting to confirm Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) nomination as the party’s presidential candidate at the KMT national congress on July 19.
Lee’s remarks yesterday prompted mixed reactions from party lawmakers.
KMT Legislator Lu Chia-chen (盧嘉辰) supported the idea and said it might prove to be the solution to achieve solidarity within the party.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
However, KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), said putting the issue to a vote would lead to a stand-off and conflict within the party.
“The party has never put it [the nomination of its presidential candidate] to a vote before, and there is no need to unnecessarily complicate matters and make us the butt of the opposition party’s jokes,” Wu said.
The party should meet before the national congress to agree on the proper wayto hold the vote, KMT Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲) said.
It would be crass to simply hold a vote in the national congress, Lu said, adding that Hung was after all the candidate who succeeded in the party’s primary.
KMT Legislator Chen Ken-te (陳根德), known for his support of Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), said that voting was “meaningless,” and the party should provide solutions and make decisions, instead of putting the nomination to a vote at the national congress and thereby framing the party’s decision as the national congress’.
Hung stirred up controversy with her remarks on Thursday that her “one China, same interpretation” formula aims to have China recognize the existence of “the government of the Republic of China [ROC], not the existence of the ROC, otherwise it would become a ‘two-state theory.’”
Hung yesterday appeared to backtrack on her statements, saying: “If the ROC does not exist, then what does?”
Hung denied allegations that she was out of sync with the party, saying the party’s stance on the issue has always been to uphold the so-called “1992 consensus” — a tacit agreement said to have been reached between Taiwan and China in 1992, that there is only “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what that means.
Earlier yesterday during the KMT’s commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said he hopes people can all adhere to the “1992 consensus,” support the KMT and insist on the promotion of regional and cross-strait peace policies.
Last month, the KMT included the “1992 consensus” in its draft amendments to policy guidelines.
Additional reporting by CNA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique