In a bid to ensure pan-blue unity in the run-up to next year's presidential election, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"To realize a second transfer of power next year, we all should work together in absolute sincerity and good faith in a united pan-blue campaign," Lien said at the New Party's headquarters.
The New Party broke away from the KMT in 1993, led by people such as Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) and Wang Chien-shien, who accused the KMT under the leadership of then-president and KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) of blocking reform of the party and the nation.
Lien was accompanied to the celebrations by Tsai Chung-hsiung (
Tsai was representing PFP Chairman James Soong (
All three parties are now cooperating in the election campaign, in which Lien is running for president and Soong vice president.
Lien yesterday accused the DPP administration of destabilizing society and inciting confrontation by toying with political ideologies and ethnic issues.
He contrasted the ruling party with the New Party, which he said had upheld its belief in safeguarding the nation's Constitution, social justice and cross-strait stability.
"In the 10 years since it was founded, the New Party has been firm in its beliefs and a loyal follower of Sun Yat-sen's (孫中山) doctrines," Lien said.
"The party is against black gold, Taiwan's independence and cross-strait instability, which is the same direction the KMT is heading in," Lien said.
In its infancy, the New Party was quite successful, winning 22 seats in the Legislative Yuan. But it quickly lost its appeal and became marginalized by the late 1990s. It now holds just one legislative seat.
Many of its founders, including Wang, Jaw Shaw-kong (
Although the New Party has lost much of its significance, the KMT and PFP have been courting its members to ensure its bid for the presidency gets all the help it can.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it