Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
KMT legislative candidates vowed to follow the sunshine laws, including the Political Party Law (政黨法), the Lobby Law (遊說法) and the Political Donation Law (政治獻金法), and establish a legislative reform team to handle bills more effectively and evaluate cross-party negotiation mechanisms if elected.
Led by KMT caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), a total of 19 candidates also pledged to prioritize reviewing bills on promoting public livelihood instead of focusing on the issue of independence or unification; ratifying laws that would prevent the government from defying the legislature and grant the legislative speaker and commission heads the right to request police protection; and set up a research team to push for constitutional reform in two years.
PHOTO: CNA
Speaking at the ceremony at KMT headquarters, Ma said that as the largest opposition party, the KMT should take responsibility for improving the reputation of the legislature and overseeing the government's performance on behalf of the public.
"With the number of legislative seats being cut in half, the new legislators will carry heavier responsibilities. I think it is quite meaningful for legislators to make this kind of vow before the elections," Ma said.
He said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should be responsible for promoting administrative transparency and integrity, while urging legislative candidates to pursue clean government if elected.
Asked to comment on the KMT's decision to boycott its own anti-corruption referendum bid, Ma said that the party would continue to fight corruption despite the boycott.
"We will continue to fight against corruption because we still have a corrupt government ... holding a referendum is not the only way to fight against corruption," Ma said.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) also voiced his support for laws that would prevent government officials from belittling the legislature and grant the legislative speaker and commission heads the right to request police protection.
Wang also condemned DPP legislators for resorting to violence to boycott bills.
"Giving the speaker the power to request police protection is not only a good mechanism but also necessary," he said.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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