The People First Party (PFP) caucus yesterday questioned the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) sincerity toward a merger plan after instances of the KMT campaigning for members who failed to win the party's nomination.
The PFP and the KMT had previously agreed to nominate a fixed number of candidates in each constituency to prevent the pan-blue vote from being split in next month's legislative elections.
Referring to the agreement, PFP caucus spokesperson Liu Wen-hsiung (
Liu noted that Chiang Fang Chih-yi (
Although Chen had failed to secure the party's nomination in the Kinmen constituency, he had expressed a strong desire to run and the KMT said that the party would not prevent him from doing so.
"We felt like our hearts had been pierced by knives, which also led us to doubt the KMT's sincerity over the merger," Liu said at a press conference held to address the issue.
Pointing out that the KMT had not expelled Chen and Chao Erh-chung (
If that happened, Tsai said, it would "raise the KMT's bargaining power in deliberating the merger."
Chao is running for a legislative seat in the Matsu constituency.
"Despite the tacit understanding between the PFP and the KMT to nominate a fixed number of candidates in each constituency, the KMT did not take action to address its members' defiance of party discipline and insistence on running in the election," Liu said.
"I wonder whether a similar scenario will also soon take place in Matzu or Hualien?" Liu said.
Liu said the KMT and the PFP did not have to engage in fratricidal infighting.
Stating that the year-end legislative elections are the pan-blue camp's last opportunity, Liu called on the KMT to attach importance to the tacit understanding in the joint nomination strategy.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
RSS