The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is using every resource at its disposal -- including asking for help from religious and business leaders -- to help dissuade the numerous aspiring candidates who want to take part in the year-end elections.
Among the 152 KMT members who intend to run for a seat in the soon-to-be slimmed down legislature, only 103 have actually registered. Many of those who have not registered, according to a party official, were "talked off."
It sometimes takes special connections to talk a potential candidate out of running, a high-level party official said on condition of anonymity.
For example, in order to convince three potential candidates to not register in Taipei's second district, so that serving Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓) can remain the KMT's candidate, the party asked Buddhist Master Hsing Yun (星雲), who has a close relationship with one of the three potential candidates, to help, the party official said.
Meanwhile, in Taichung, a business leader served as the mediator between County Councilor Wang Chia-chia (
Wang's mother-in-law, Shiatzy Chen (王陳彩霞) -- a clothing designer -- is a close friend of KMT Acting Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤). Chiang asked the business leader to help convince her daughter-in-law not to run in the district.
Wang pulled out of the race.
Mayors have also had a hand in mediating as well.
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (
But in addition to human mediation, immortals are being called upon to intervene in party nominations, too.
In Miaoli County, when Li I-ting (
Buabuei is a tradition in which people consult divinities by throwing two kidney-shaped wooden blocks. One block showing upside and another showing the downside indicate the immortal's approval.
Although Li has won the god's approval, Kang decided he would risk divine wrath and insist on running anyway.
Chiu Ching-chun (
It's said that although they swore to the gods that one would run for county commissioner and the other would run for legislator, both decided to run in the legislative election.
Still, the KMT denies personal connections and money determine nomination arrangements.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS