The KMT's 210-seat Central Committee yesterday approved the party's slate of nominees for legislator-at-large amid complaints from committee members about their being treated as a "rubber stamp."
Each of the 41 recommended nominees passed ballots by Central Committee members without any surprising twists.
Topping the list of nominees are Legislative Yuan vice speaker Yao Eng-chi (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
A recommended nominee can only be screened out if over half of the Central Committee members vote against him. The order of the nominees will not be rearranged according to the number of approval votes they obtain.
This is the first time the KMT has let the Central Committee vote to decide the legislator-at-large nominees, which is part of the party's plan for internal democratic reform.
However, many outspoken lawmakers in attendance at the Central Committee meeting expressed strong opposition to the ballot rules which they say are undemocratic and give them little room to make changes to the list.
"We Central Committee members are here to serve simply as a rubber stamp," said legislator Chen Ching-pao (陳清寶).
Legislator Apollo Chen (
"Most people on the list are strangers to us, though none of them are our enemies. We don't know how are we going to exercise our right of veto," Chen said.
The 41 nominees were selected by the KMT's nomination review panels from a total of 130 contestants vying for the party's nomination. Only those who rank within the top 16 to 19 are considered likely to win seats, based on a forecast of the KMT's showing in the year-end legislative elections.
A total of 41 legislator-at-large seats are available, and they will be allocated to political parties according to their share of the vote in the constituency-based elections.
In addition to criticism of the ballot rules, reformists within the KMT expressed their disappointment that the party's nominees for legislator-at-large seats weren't innovative enough to renew its image.
"For the KMT, reform has yet to succeed," said Chen Feng-hsing (陳鳳馨), a Central Committee member and former KMT spokeswoman.
Chen said the party should have nominated more high-profile candidates to fill the legislator-at-large seats and win popular support for the KMT's legislative campaign.
Also, as Taiwan is facing its worst recession in decades, the KMT should have nominated as many economic professionals as possible, Chen said.
In response to these doubts, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"Today's event marks a very important milestone in the KMT's democratic development. In this process, we will learn how to make democratization more progressive," Lien said.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS