In a bid to bolster a weakened KMT after its crushing defeat in the presidential election, dozens of academics affiliated with the party issued a statement yesterday urging James Soong
At a news conference held yesterday by senior KMT-affiliated university professors, the academics said they were disappointed with the KMT's "incredible failure" in Saturday's polls that ended the party's 54-year grip on power.
"We sincerely call on Soong to rejoin the party, because we don't want to see the DPP monopolize power, with two smaller parties, the KMT and Soong's new party, neutralizing each other," said Chang Ya-yun
"Forming a new party is both unrealistic and irresponsible. We have to reintegrate the KMT, because the party has to be a powerful opposition party and monitor the ruling DPP," Chang said.
Chang added that the the KMT should not simply vanish.
"Soong was a KMT member for decades and he should remain loyal to the party. He cannot become a traitor," said James Yang (
He said the KMT would be in a stronger position to stand up to the DPP if Soong returned to the KMT, rather than form a new party, as he has announced he would do.
Those attending the news conference also urged KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to step down today -- as he is expected to do -- and allow Lien Chan (
"Lee Teng-hui should resign and take responsibility for his mistaken policy-making, which caused the party's failure in the election," James Yang said.
Lien garnered just 23 percent of the vote, trailing a distant third behind Soong, who won 37 percent.
"The DPP's victory doesn't mean that all the current problems caused by `black gold' politics will be solved entirely."
'The `sunshine laws' (currently under legislative review) need cooperation between the DPP and KMT if they are to go through," Yang said.
He added that the party should strengthen itself by welcoming former members who left during the election.
A statement issued by the academics called for the new party chair to be elected in a direct vote by all KMT members.
"Why are KMT members abandoning the party? Because the party lacks a democratic mechanism," Yang said.
He said important party decisions were traditionally made by the chairman and that this had created a gap between high level leaders and the rank and file.
"Meetings held by the KMT Central Standing Committee consist of one person laying down the law. There's no democracy at all in the party," Yang said.
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
One person was killed and another seven injured today when a tourist shuttle bus plunged 30m to 40m down a ravine in Nantou County, the Tourism Administration said. The bus is suspected to have suddenly accelerated out of control near the flower center of the Sun-Link-Sea Forest Recreation Area, a popular attraction during cherry blossom season. Of the eight onboard, a 66-year-old man was killed, four were seriously injured and three sustained minor injuries, including the driver. The Nantou County Police Department said it received a report of the incident at 12:15pm and dispatched seven teams to assist. All surviving passengers have been transferred
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