The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday confirmed it had rejected People First Party (PFP) Legislator Shen Chih-hwei's (
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Shen announced last week that she had decided to leave the PFP and join the KMT for the next legislative session, which starts in September.
Shen, who ran for Taichung mayor against incumbent Jason Hu (
There was apparently a lot of resentment between the KMT and PFP branches in Taichung both before and after last December's election and the KMT's Taichung headquarters rejected Shen's application.
"Shen did come to me to talk about her application, but I told her that we needed to respect the local headquarters' decision," Ma said yesterday after presiding over a municipal meeting at Taipei City Hall.
The KMT requires applicants to file their membership applications with their local branches.
"If local branch has issues with an application, it's the applicant's job to communicate with the branch and try to solve the problems," he said.
Shen said on Monday that she would continue to try to join the KMT as an independent legislator.
PFP caucus whip Lu Hsueh-chang (
"The KMT already rejected her application, but she still wants to join it ? What's done can't be undone. We give her our blessing and deepest regret as well," Lu said.
Shen's colleague, PFP Legislator Chen Chao-rung (
Starting from the next legislative election, a single-member district system will be implemented, which is regarded as unfavorable to smaller parties.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
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