Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou's (
The party's Central Standing Committee (CSC) yesterday passed Ma's appointment of KMT Legislator Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) as its new secretary-general and Yang Chao-nong (楊炤濃) (also known as Yang Tu, 楊渡), former deputy editorial writer at the Chinese-language newspaper the China Times, as the chairman of the Culture and Communications Committee.
KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) will be promoted to serve as the party's vice chairman, while Acting Culture and Communications Committee Chairman Huang Yu-cheng (黃玉振), who also serves as KMT spokesman, will become vice chairman of the party's Policy Committee.
The recruitment of Yang and Su Jin-pin (蘇俊賓), chief of the Taoyuan County Government's environmental protection bureau, as new party spokesman, did not require approval from the CSC as the position was not a first-level position.
While Ma's appointments were expected, many CSC members were dissatisfied with the recruitment of Yang and Su, criticizing their lack of party loyalty.
Yang only applied to join the party last Friday.
"He only joined the KMT for the position ? [Ma's use of people] could prompt the party's systems to fall apart, because no one will want to stay at the low levels and fight for the party," KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung (
Although a KMT member and former assistant to KMT Legislator Shyu Jong-shyoung (
"I suggested that the party give the younger generation more of a chance ... The one who criticized the KMT is now invited to become its spokesperson, this is quite controversial," KMT Legislator Yao Chiang-lin (
Ting said that the KMT should allow the CSC to cast votes on the appointment of the party's spokesman and its committee chairman.
"Otherwise anyone who wants to be a top-level KMT official can criticize the party and then the next moment join the party," he added.
Shyu and KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (
"I believe in Su's capability and loyalty to the party. Many KMT members could be more critical of the party," Shyu said.
CSC member Lee De-wei (
Receiving the petition from Lee, Ma said that the KMT welcomed different voices, but he declined to make further comments on his appointments.
Facing growing concern from party members, Ma later urged party members to embrace people with different backgrounds and give them an opportunity to prove themselves, while inviting Su and Yang to present their future goals to the CSC after tomorrow's hand-over ceremony.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods