A youthful image and a more pro-localization stance seem to best characterize those who will benefit from a pending reshuffle of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) personnel.
It is widely assumed that KMT Taipei Councilor Lai Shu-ju (
KMT Taipei Councilor Chen Yu-mei (陳玉梅), 38, is likely to take over from party Publicity Department director Justin Chou (周守訓), who will run for a legislative seat in December in Taipei City.
Tainan City Councilor Hsieh Long-chieh (謝龍介), 43, known for his pro-localization sentiment, said he had been approached by officials to serve as a deputy to KMT spokesman Alex Tsai (蔡正元), who will be preoccupied with his own re-election campaign.
Tsai confirmed that the KMT is reshuffling its officials and that the new personnel would assume their posts within weeks.
Saying that KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) had issued the criteria for selecting party officials, Tsai added that "all new qualified party officials must be under the age of 40, possess campaign experience and know a foreign language, Taiwanese or Hakka."
Tsai added that using these guidelines the party had drawn up a shortlist of new personnel after approaching prospective candidates to gauge their interest in the posts.
Describing himself as a country boy, Hsieh said the KMT had long been falsely accused of not being pro-localization. He said he would do his best to divest observers of this perception should the party decide to appoint him as a spokesman.
Meanwhile, KMT Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng (
Encouraging them to work hard for the grassroots, Lin and Liao also asked the managers to strengthen party mobilization in preparation for the elections in December.
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 US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative.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
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
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition