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.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS