New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) yesterday said his recent expression of interest in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship was only meant to demonstrate his broad-mindedness, adding that he did not rule out returning his party to the KMT fold should “the soul of the KMT” be upheld.
At a morning news conference in Taipei, Yok said he only voiced his interest in contending for the KMT chairmanship to demonstrate his magnanimity and throw out an issue that could help the KMT.
“On the eve of the Jan. 16 elections, [former KMT] chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) clearly stated that if the Republic of China’s [ROC] existence was at risk, there was no point differentiating between the KMT and the New Party or the People First Party [PFP]. He said all pan-blue parties must stick together,” Yok said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“That is why I decided to make a gesture to respond to Chu’s offer after the elections... Is this offer no longer available after Chu’s resignation as KMT chairman?” Yok asked.
However, KMT Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) on Monday said that Yok, a former KMT member who joined other party comrades in founding the New Party in 1993, was not eligible to enter the March 26 by-election.
Yok said he had expected the KMT to cite his lack of party membership to deny him entry into the race, adding that he respected its decision and would not attempt to register for the election.
“If the KMT is serious about uniting us, it should have welcomed members of the New Party and the PFP to compete for its chairmanship post. Desperate time calls for desperate measures. The KMT ought to be more magnanimous,” Yok said.
Nevertheless, if the KMT was willing to adhere to “the soul of the party” and recognize its history, Yok said he did not rule out letting the New Party return to the KMT.
“However, if some people within the KMT are still unable to see sense, we will wait outside for the KMT to change its name and then go ahead and name ourselves the KMT,” Yok said, referring to calls to remove the word “Chinese” from the KMT’s name to make it more Taiwan-centric.
In related news, KMT Taipei City Councilor Lee Hsin (李新) yesterday picked up a registration form for the by-election at KMT’s headquarters in Taipei and paid the required NT$1.6 million (US$47,440) handling fee.
“The KMT is in freezing winter. The NT$1.6 million fee has prevented younger party members from entering the election and this unjust system wrenches my heart,” Lee Hsin told reporters, vowing to abolish the threshold if elected.
Lee Hsin said while he paled in comparison with other aspirants, who are all “A-list” politicians, the task of reforming the KMT had to be carried out by someone from the grassroots level.
Lee Hsin was the only person to pick up a registration form.
KMT Central Advisory Committee member Chou Kai-lun (周楷倫) showed up to fill out the form, but did not pay the handling fee and later said he was no longer interested in the post.
Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), former KMT vice chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) and Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鐘小平) are expected to pick up forms today.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
RSS