KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) yesterday met with his PFP counterpart Tsai Chung-hsiung (蔡鐘雄) to discuss who will represent the two parties in the Hualien County commissioner election in August.
Former Cabinet secretary-general Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山) of the KMT has emerged as the favorite to get the nomination, although other pan-blue candidates have refused to rule out running independent campaigns if they are not chosen.
Hsieh, a senior KMT official and labor-union leader, led opinion polls conducted by the KMT.
"After discussing this matter extensively during our meeting, we'll reach a conclusion on who the KMT-PFP alliance wishes to jointly nominate," Lin said.
"We'll then report our conclusion to both KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and PFP Chairman James Soong (
He said Lien and Soong would jointly announce their decision today.
The Hualien County commissioner by-election will be held on Aug. 2 to fill the post left vacant by KMT incumbent, Chang fu-hsiung (張福興), who died of lung cancer last month.
Although Hsieh is the favorite to get the nomination, some other party members have also expressed their strong intention to win the candidacy. They include former Hualien County commissioner Wu Kuo-tung (吳國棟) and Liu Chao-eh (劉詔娥), widow of the late commissioner Chang. PFP Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) has also expressed a desire to run.
Although Lin was confident his party could persuade other candidates to step down after the nomination is announced, Wu said he was keeping his options open.
"Even though I would not be at all happy if the party skips over me to nominate others, I can't do anything about it," Wu said.
He said last night that KMT headquarters had not informed him of any conclusions they may have reached.
When asked whether he would resign his KMT membership to run his own campaign if the party did not nominate him, Wu said, "I have yet to consider such an option, though chances are that such scenario might evolve."
Hualien County is considered a pan-blue stronghold, but if Wu insists on running he could divide the pan-blue vote.
Liu, who claimed that Lien had once encouraged her to succeed her husband, has said that she would nonetheless respect the party headquarters' decision if she was not nominated. She was unavailable for comment last night.
After the failure of the parties' joint candidate in the Kaohsiung mayoral race in December last year, August's by-election is seen as a crucial test of their ability to cooperate in elections ahead of the presidential vote in March next year.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS