The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) headquarters yesterday scheduled the extempore party congress aimed at removing Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as the party’s presidential candidate. It is to take place on Saturday.
The congress, which has as its objectives “forging consensuses and securing victory through party solidarity,” is scheduled to begin at 2pm on Saturday at the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said after the conclusion of a party affairs meeting in Taipei yesterday morning.
When asked about whether such short notice would make it impossible for overseas KMT representatives to return for the congress, Lin said the Civil Associations Act (人民團體法) only requires one day advance notice for such a meeting, adding that she believes the selection of the date conforms with the law.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Regarding calls from some KMT lawmakers that the proposal to rescind Hung’s nomination be put to a secret ballot, Lin said the issue was not discussed at the meeting.
“The agenda and procedures for the congress will be made public after they are finalized. On Wednesday [tomorrow], we are scheduled to first brief members of the KMT Central Standing Committee on the matter,” Lin said.
The announcement came after the committee passed a motion on Wednesday last week, backed by nearly three-fourths of its 39 members, to hold a provisional congress to replace Hung as presidential candidate.
Hung, who was officially nominated by the KMT on July 19 as the only hopeful to have met all of the party’s presidential primary requirements, has been facing mounting pressure from other members to exit the race for the Jan. 16 election, as her support ratings have dropped by more than 20 percentage points in the past few months.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) last week weighed in on the matter, saying that Hung’s pro-unification cross-strait policies run counter to both the party’s stance and mainstream public opinion, and urged her to look at the bigger picture.
Chu added that he was willing to “assume the responsibility” of being the party’s candidate should Hung decide to quit the race.
However, Hung has refused to quit and vowed to continue campaigning until the last minute.
Rejecting Hung’s comments on Sunday that putting her nomination to a vote — whether by applause, a show of hands, or a ballot — at the congress would be detrimental to the KMT’s primary mechanism, KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said that changing the polling method only for Hung could impair the congress’ procedures.
“Given that a KMT congress approved Hung’s nomination with a round of applause, adopting a different voting method now could be disruptive,” Lo said.
Lo said that applause is also an effective manner of voting, because it is easy to determine whether a proposal has passed by the proportion of attendees standing up and applauding.
When asked who would be the most suitable substitute for Hung, Lo said that she believes Chu would be the party’s best hope.
“Factoring in political geography, provincialism and gender, KMT Vice Chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), who once served as Chiayi mayor, would also be an ideal choice,” Lo added.
In related news, at a question-and-answer session in the legislature, Control Yuan Secretary-General Fu Meng-jung (傅孟融) said that Hung would be required to transfer the remainder of contributions to her campaign to the government’s coffers should she be forced out of the race.
“According to the Political Donations Act (政治獻金法), Hung will no longer be allowed to tap the political donations she has received once she exits the race. She will be required to submit a list of all expenditures to the Control Yuan within three months and give the remainder to the government,” Fu said.
Hung would be required to set up a new campaign account should she plan to run for a different post, Fu said.
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
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
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
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