The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) 17th national convention, which opens today at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, will feature a hand-over ceremony for the party's top post and debate over the party's power structure and development
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) will formally hand power over to chairman-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). Ma's inauguration will immediately follow the hand-over ceremony, during which the Taipei mayor will deliver a keynote speech setting out his vision and goals for the party.
Four proposals will be discussed during the two-day convention, including amendments to the KMT's constitution, a resolution to install an honorary chairman, the appointment of five vice chairpersons as well as the selection of a new secretary-general of the party's Central Standing Committee (CSC).
The proposed amendments to the party's constitution are the most important topic facing delegates since they will affect the KMT's internal power structure.
Both Ma's supporters and those of Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Ma's supporters are pushing a proposal to extend CSC membership from one year to two. They are also expected to propose that committee members should be directly elected by the congress delegates.
The aim of the direct-election proposal to reduce the power of Wang's supporters within the party's leadership.
Under current regulations, the 1,602 party delegates are empowered to select the 210 members of the Central Committee, who in turn elect the 31 members of the CSC.
Wang said earlier this week that he thought revision of the election rules should be put off until the next CSC election next year to avoid controversy.
The elections for both the Central Committee and the CSC must be held today. The five vice chairpeople are also due to be named today. Only two of the incumbents -- Taichung Mayor Wu Po-hsiung (
Wang's supporters, however, are expected to propose that the chairman's choices for the vice chairpeople should be agreed upon by the party delegates, a move aimed at stopping Ma filling the slate with his people.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (
The goal is to have 800 signatures by noon today.
Wu said that, despite Wang's advice, if the new mechanism is approved, it should be put into effect immediately.
However, KMT Legislator Lee Chuan-chiao (
Wang refused to comment on the CSC reform proposals yesterday, saying that he had not contacted anyone to discuss the issue nor was he aware of Lee's proposal.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
RSS