The nomination of a suitable candidate for the Yunlin county by-election is proving a huge headache for KMT officials, with local factional interests blocking them at every turn.
Following Sunday's surprise announcement by Taipei judge Wang Pei-chih (王培智) that he would not to accept the party nomination, KMT officials have been desperately trying to secure a candidate for the Oct. 16 by-election.
According to a KMT source, the frontrunner for the position is the deputy director-general of National Police Administration (NPA) Wang Chun (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Yesterday, Johnson Chen (
He said he had spent more than two hours with Wang on Sunday to convince him to stay in the race.
"Since Wang has now declined the nomination, we're being forced to make other arrangements," Chen said.
Chen said the party was looking for a candidate that had both the support of local factional leaders in Yunlin, and could leap straight into the by-election race.
Chen admitted that the NPA deputy director-general Wang Chun was highly recommended by party heavyweights.
Legislator Hsu Shu-po (
"Whether I support Wang Chun or not mainly depends on the KMT's sincerity," he said.
A KMT source said yesterday that it appeared the factions would allow Wang to be nominated because he is not aligned with any one faction. His appointment may be an acceptable compromise, the source said.
The KMT official said that among the five legislators from Yunlin who had showed interest in the by-election race, each one had to be struck off the list because of their alliances with individual power bases.
The DPP's director of organizational department, Jimmy Kuo (
"They would rather hand the seat to their enemy than their comrades. Because they are so frightened if they fail to keep their position, their own faction will be swallowed up," Kuo said.
The KMT official agreed, saying that factions now determined many of the party's decisions, including Sunday's selection of Wang Pei-chih.
"Among the five legislators, if Hsu had won the support of at least three of them, then we would have considered nominating him. But unfortunately, things didn't turn out that way," Chen said.
For this reason, he said, the KMT had been compelled to nominate the inexperienced Wang.
Speaking yesterday on his decision to decline the post, Wang said he had neither enough time, money, or factional support to win the by-election.
According to party insiders yesterday, it appeared Wang Chun was also considering accepting the nomination.
Officials said that Wang had initially refused a nomination last week during a meeting with KMT secretary-general John Chang (
Chen said that if Wang Chun refused again, the KMT chairman for Yunlin county, Chang Cheng-hsiung, (
A final decision is expected at the KMT's Central Standing Committee tomorrow.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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