Outgoing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday appointed KMT vice chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) as the party’s interim chairperson, with Chu saying that he would never forget that the party lost the elections under his leadership.
Chu made the remarks before the KMT’s Central Standing Committee (CSC) was set to approve his resignation as party chairman at an extraordinary meeting in Taipei yesterday afternoon.
“I pledged to step down [as KMT chairman] should I be defeated in the elections... The KMT has an established tradition in which its leader takes full responsibility for the party’s loss or victory,” Chu said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Chu said he would take the largest share of responsibility for the party’s landslide defeat and planned to engage in some serious self-reflection, while apologizing to supporters and all his comrades in the party for letting them down.
“I will never forget that the KMT lost power under my governance,” Chu said.
The KMT would only be able to regain the public’s trust if it learns from its mistakes, Chu said.
The priority for the party’s next chairman would be to formulate reform proposals that could be accepted by the public and the party, Chu said.
“Despite my resignation, I will forever be the KMT’s most loyal member and will stand alongside every party comrade during reforms,” Chu said, adding that he believed Huang would take good care of the party before a chairmanship election was held.
According to the KMT charter, an election for party chairman must be held within three months of the resignation of an incumbent.
Several KMT members have reportedly expressed interest in the post, including Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), former KMT vice chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Following yesterday’s committee meeting, a dozen KMT members visited Wu at the Presidential Office to try and persuade him to run for the party chairmanship.
“During the KMT’s most difficult time, the party needs someone who can unite its members... Wu once served as the party’s secretary-general and has experience in elections,” CSC member Yao Chiang-lin (姚江臨) said.
Hau — who stepped down as KMT vice chairman on Saturday after failing to secure a legislative seat in Keelung — downplayed the issue yesterday when asked to comment on some party members’ calls for him to take up the post, saying he has not given the matter any thought.
In related news, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) also offered to resign yesterday, following the party’s poor performance in the legislative elections.
The New Power Party’s success at the ballots came as the TSU’s support crumbled, with the union losing all three of its legislator-at-large seats.
Green Party-Social Democratic Party Alliance conveners also resigned yesterday following the alliance’s disappointing showing in Saturday’s legislative elections.
She had to take responsibility for the failure of her party to win any legislative seats, Social Democratic Party convener Fan Yun (范雲) said in her resignation speech.
Green Party Taiwan co-conveners Lee Ken-cheng (李根政) and Chang Yu-ching (張育憬) also resigned.
The two parties founded an electoral alliance in hopes of pooling their votes to cross the 5 percent threshold required to be awarded at-large seats but won only 2.53 percent.
Additional reporting by Abraham Gerber and staff writer
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing
RSS