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.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard