Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"The party is facing a life-and-death situation now," Wang said. "If a wrong person is chosen to take the party helm, I'm afraid there won't be any future for the party."
Wang said that the KMT can only resume power by adopting Chiang's policy line and that if elected, he would guarantee a win of half of the total seats in the year-end election of city mayors and county commissioners, or shoulder political responsibility for failing to make good on the promise.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
About 130 retired military generals attended a tea party organized by the Wang camp at the legislative compound yesterday morning.
They included former president of National Defense University Cheng Pan-chi (
Also present was KMT Legislator John Chiang (
Desperate to shake off the impression that he is a follower of Lee Teng-hui's (
"Many have categorized me as a follower of Lee, but if I were, I wouldn't have ended up getting zero support from the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) in February's legislative speakership election," he said.
In addition to committing himself to following the Chiang Ching-kuo policy line, Wang yesterday reiterated his platform of retaining the national title. He also repeated the wish to see a gentlemanly competition with his rival, Ma.
His camp, however, submitted "evidence" of alleged vote-buying by the Ma camp to the party's election supervision committee, following a similar move made by the Ma camp on Wednesday.
Wang yesterday outlined the "plight" caused by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration since it came to power in 2000, and depicted five tasks he would dedicate himself to if elected. In addition to depleting state coffers, Wang said, the DPP government's economic policies have blunted the nation's economic edge, while its election strategies have incited ethnic divisions and its cross-strait policies have pushed both sides to the brink of military confrontation.
To solve all the problems, Wang said that the KMT must resume power. If elected, Wang said that party reform would top the agenda.
He also vowed to integrate the plan-blue camp because only through unity can guarantee triumph in the year-end city mayor and county commissioner election and eventually in the 2008 presidential election.
Wang also insinuated that his rival lacks political ethics, because Ma had announced his election bid before KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"I did not register for the election until June 7, one day after Ma signed up for the election and Chairman Lien told me to hurry up to register," Wang said.
In addition to the backing of retired generals, KMT senior heavyweights Lee Huan (
KMT Legislator Lee Chin-hua (
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS