Former president Lee Teng-hui (
If Lee's attempts prove successful, the KMT -- dealt a serious blow in the elections -- might suffer from a mass departure in February when the new legislative session begins.
Lee Shan-ren (
"[Lee] has been very concerned about our future [after our defeat in the election]. He told us that if we are interested, we can join the Taiwan Advocates or the TSU," Lee Shan-ren said.
Lee said that, besides himself, pro-localization KMT lawmaker Chen Horng-chi (
On Wednesday Lin announced that he would join the TSU and will act as the party's deputy secretary general, while Chen and Lee Shan-ren say they have yet to make a decision because they are still KMT members.
Lee Shan-ren said he will first join Taiwan Advocates, a non-political group, next month.
The outgoing KMT lawmaker added that the TSU has been actively approaching lawmakers of all political affiliations asking them to join the party in the hope of broadening the TSU's political influence.
Reports said that Lee Teng-hui will meet with more KMT lawmakers in the near future.
Lin's joining the TSU and Lee Shan-ren's future participation in Taiwan Advocates suggests a possible exodus of pro-localization KMT members is imminent.
"There will be many more to come," Lee Teng-hui told the media on Wednesday after meeting with Lin at TSU headquarters.
Shu Chin-chiang (
"It is like embracing children who had gone astray and then returned home," said Shu, commenting on Lin's change of allegiance.
Facing a possible mass departure of party members, KMT spokesman Justin Chou (周守訓) said that the party feels regret over the matter but "will not try to keep them by offering them any perks."
Chou stated that the party has been expediting its pace of reform since the elections and will regret the loss should some of its members choose to leave over disagreements about the changing nature of the party.
"But it wouldn't be such a bad thing if these people [intending to leave] are really black sheep who have been hiding in the party," he said.
"Whatever the reasons for their departure, the KMT will not offer any privileges in order to keep them, because one can tell true friends only in times of trouble. ... If they want to go, let them go."
The KMT, struggling with the issue of localization, was routed in the Dec. 1 elections. It lost its five-decade grip on the legislature, taking only 68 of the 225 seats being contested. Before the election, the party held 110 and controlled the body.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole