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.
‘DEMOCRATIC FISH’: Soichiro Hayashi said he wants to return Taiwan’s kindness after it helped with relief efforts after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami Japanese fish farmers are ready to help Taiwan after China banned Taiwanese grouper imports, the Sankei Shimbun reported yesterday. The Chinese General Administration of Customs suspended imports of the fish on Monday last week, citing prohibited chemicals and excessive levels of oxytetracycline allegedly found in grouper imports since December last year. Soichiro Hayashi, president of the Hayashi Trout Farm in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, is leading the push for Taiwanese grouper imports, the newspaper said. His call has caught the attention of several large sushi chains, the report said. Hayashi, who is the Fukushima branch head of the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association in Japan,
‘TROJAN HORSE’ SCHEME: The comment that a bridge would allow China’s PLA to easily launch an attack shows ‘a lack of backbone,’ Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said Critics accused Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of being oblivious to national security concerns after he proposed constructing a bridge to link Kinmen and China’s Xiamen (廈門). Ko, who is also the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman, made the proposal when presiding over the opening ceremony of the party’s office in Kinmen on Saturday. He said the bridge could solve Kinmen’s population, electricity and garbage problems, as well as serve as a shortcut for leaving or entering Taiwan without traveling via Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport). He also proposed building a hospital in Kinmen to attract people who are seeking medical treatment in
OVER THE HUMP: In a seven-day period ending on Wednesday, the nation reported 366,628 new cases, down 19 percent from the 451,358 reported in the previous week The nation might further open up to more arrivals in the next two months, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 48,283 new local COVID-19 cases, down from more than 50,000 in the previous few days. Taiwan on Wednesday last week introduced a plan to allow up to 25,000 arrivals per week as part of efforts to gradually reopen borders, which includes reducing mandatory quarantines for inbound travelers from seven to three days, followed by four days in “self-initiated epidemic prevention.” The quota covers inbound Taiwanese arrivals, businesspeople and migrant workers. Former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday said
CECC UPDATE: Officials said the definition of a confirmed COVID-19 case has been revised to include those who are positive in a PCR home test confirmed by a doctor The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that it would probably list monkeypox as a category 2 notifiable communicable disease today or tomorrow. The WHO is to convene an emergency committee meeting today in accordance with the International Health Regulations to discuss whether the spread of monkeypox to 39 countries, including 32 non-endemic countries, constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. On Tuesday, the Singaporean Ministry of Health confirmed its first imported case of monkeypox, which is also the first case reported in Southeast Asia. South Korea yesterday reported its first confirmed case of monkeypox — a South Korean national who