Senior officials of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday voiced support for Chairman Lien Chan's (
"We must at this time stand behind Lien. We must support Lien in his decision," said KMT Vice Chairman Vincent Siew (
It is customary in Taiwan's politics that party leaders resign following their party's defeat in major elections, as a gesture of taking responsibility for the loss.
But given that Lien has refused to concede defeat to President Chen Shui-bian (
"Lien's leadership should be maintained at this moment. We should not complicate the current situation further and make it more chaotic," said KMT Legislator John Chang (
Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Wang also took the opportunity to dismiss speculation that the pro-localization faction within the party would split from the KMT following the failure of Lien's second bid for the presidency.
"Why split when it is time we need more than ever to stay united," Wang told reporters before the committee meeting.
He is seen by many pan-blue supporters as the key representative of the pro-localization faction.
"Everyone must be loyal to the party," he said. "If it is within everyone's heart to be loyal and love the party, then we must more than ever unite at time like this. Any effort to split or drive a wedge would only harm the party."
Stressing that the pro-localization faction would not defect, KMT Legislator Hsu Chong-hsiung (徐中雄), a committee member known for his pro-localization image, also said the party must strengthen its pro-localization image in order to stay competitive.
In view of the year-end legislative election, Hu also suggested that the KMT, the People First Party and the New Party should merge.
"The opposition alliance can not afford to remain divided," Hsu said.
His call was echoed by other Central Standing Committee mem-bers including Chang and KMT Legislator Hou Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳).
Meanwhile, the KMT is mulling the idea of staging protests in different parts of the country after its march in Taipei on Saturday to emphasize their appeal for an immediate recount of the vote.
A crowd of pan-blue supporters has been demonstrating in front of the Presidential Office to demand a recount since before dawn on Sunday morning.
The protesters support the KMT-PFP alliance's claims that the election was unfair and the assassination attempt was suspicious.
The protesters have permission from the Taipei City Government to continue their demonstration on Katagalan Boulevard till 10pm Saturday.
"Whether or not to disband the protesting crowd in front of the Presidential Office will be decided based on how the government responds [to our appeals,]" said KMT spokesman Alex Tsai (蔡正元).
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
RSS