The KMT-PFP alliance yesterday announced that it would nominate former Cabinet secretary-general Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山) as its representative in the Hualien County commissioner election in August.
Saying that it was a hard decision to make, given the large talent pool in the alliance, KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) said the alliance decided to nominate Hsieh in the end because of his good image.
"Aside from possessing rich experience in administration and coming out in the lead in polls conducted by the KMT, Hsieh was nominated because of his clean image, good reputation and his chances to score the electoral win" said Lin at a press conference held with his PFP counterpart Tsai Chung-hsiung (蔡鐘雄) following the KMT-PFP alliance meeting.
PHOTO: YU TAI-LANG, TAIPEI TIMES
The decision to nominate Hsieh was decided during the alliance meeting by KMT Lien Chan (連戰) and PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
Originally the announcement was to be made by both Lien and Soong. Media speculated that, in order to avoid provoking fellow party members who had failed to secure their party's nomination, both Lien and Soong decided at the last minute to shift the responsibility to the party secretary-general instead.
The Hualien County commissioner by-election will be held on Aug. 2 to fill the post left vacant by the KMT's Chang fu-hsiung (張福興), who died of lung cancer last month.
PHOTO: YANG YI-CHUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Chang, who started his four-year tenure in December 2001, had 31 more months left in his term.
Lin added that, in the event that Hsieh wins the by-election, Hsieh would serve only the time remaining in Chang's term.
The KMT and the PFP had to iron out their differences in order to reach consensus in nominating Hsieh -- a senior KMT official -- as the alliance's representative in the by-election.
Still another task lies ahead for the KMT to see how successful it can be in dissuading fellow party members from running their independent campaigns.
Noting that there are other pan-blue members who have expressed strong interest in being a candidate, Lin said numerous KMT and PFP party officials would together make a visit to Hualien today to dissuade those other hopefuls from running in the by-election.
That group includes former KMT 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
"We strongly hope that fellow party comrades would come to place the interests of the alliance ahead of their personal ones," Lin said.
Despite Lin's call, Wu expressed his determination to run -- even though he had failed to secure the party's nomination.
"There's no turning back, I am determined to run," Wu said.
As of press time, neither Liu nor Fu could be reach for comment.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS