After a series of "bottom up" consultation meetings around the country the KMT's Reform Committee (
At the same time, the Reform Committee devised a restriction against party office nominations as well as public service nominations by those who have violated criminal laws, in an effort to eliminate the party's "black gold (黑金)" image.
After a humbling defeat in the March 18 presidential election that ended 54 years of party rule over Taiwan, the KMT is now trying to force itself to undergo a top-to-bottom image change.
Despite the establishment of a new reform committee, however, pushing the KMT toward transformation has proven a slow task.
"I have heard from many grassroots groups and individuals who mistrust the KMT's sincerity to carry out reform. I hereby urge the party to act on reform as soon as possible," said Wang Yu-ting (王昱婷), a legislator and KMT reform committee member, at yesterday's meeting to discuss how to institute democratic practices within the party.
According to a proposal drawn up by Huang Te-fu (黃德福), many top-level positions in the KMT are to be directly elected by the membership, including the party chairman, Central Standing Committee (中常委) and the Central Advisory Committee (中評委).
Deputy head of the KMT's Department of Organizational Affairs, Lee Po-yuan (李伯元), indicated that the reform plans will be completed by the end of this year so that the party chairman will be directly elected by the full membership.
Deputy convener of the committee Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said that decisions related to party reform will be left to the Central Standing Committee and will then serve as reform guidelines once they are approved at the party's provisional National Congress (臨時全代會), which is set to take place in mid-June.
The Tourism Administration yesterday announced that it would reward repeat international visitors with incentives of up to NT$8,000 to boost inbound tourism. The incentives are available to all international tourists, it said, adding that repeat visitors would be rewarded with NT$5,000 and would receive an additional NT$3,000 if they bring travel companions. The nation received 2,990,657 inbound visitors during the first quarter, marking a 3.8 percent increase from the same period last year, agency data showed. Japanese nationals are among groups visiting Taiwan the most. About 1.48 million Japanese tourists arrived last year, a year-on-year increase of more than 12
66 FIGHTER JETS: The aircraft is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan — a significant step forward in the nation’s modernization program, a lawmaker said The first of Taiwan’s order of F-16V Block 70 aircraft has been sighted in Texas ahead of delivery, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. Taiwan’s first F-16V Block 70 two-seat aircraft, tail number 6831, was seen flying from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Greenville, South Carolina, to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas, Wang wrote on Facebook yesterday. The plane is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan, marking a significant step forward in the Republic of China Air Force’s modernization program, Wang said, citing military analysts. The F-16V Block 70 is a new-build version
‘BRAZEN’: The holiday did not stop China from activities that infringe on Taiwan’s maritime jurisdiction, but the CGA is ready to defend the nation, Kuan Bi-ling said Beijing is intensifying maritime pressure on Taiwan, but the nation will never yield, Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Sung Chen-en (宋承恩) said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has adopted a “shadowing and monitoring” approach to avoid falling into a Chinese trap to escalate tensions and deepen the conflict, Sung said in an interview published yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). China Coast Guard formations patrolling waters east of Taiwan, as well as official Chinese vessels entering areas around Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) and Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) show Beijing’s attempts to significantly step up
BOOST: By operating the same advanced systems as the US military, Taiwan would be better positioned to share and integrate intelligence with partners, an expert said The first batch of MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones has arrived in Taiwan, and is being assembled and tested by drone manufacturer General Atomics and the military ahead of flight trials as part of the air force’s acquisition to bolster its aerial surveillance capabilities, a source said yesterday. The air force allocated a budget of NT$21.7 billion (US$687 million) from 2022 to 2029 to procure four MQ-9B uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) manufactured by General Atomics along with associated equipment such as ground control stations. The US has agreed to deliver the four MQ-9Bs to Taiwan in two batches this year and next
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