The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) denied yesterday that Taoyuan County Commissioner Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Chiayi Mayor Huang Ming-hui (黃敏惠) would serve as vice chairpersons of the party, but acknowledged that the KMT is handing over more power to younger generations.
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) was planning to nominate two members under 60 years of age as vice chairpersons to fill the vacancies left by Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Chang Jen-hsiang (章仁香) and Control Yuan president nominee John Kuan (關中), but the candidates would not be finalized until the party convention on Nov. 22, KMT spokesman Lee Chien-jung (李建榮) said yesterday.
Lee made the remarks in response to a Chinese-language United Daily News report yesterday that Wu decided to nominate Chu and Huang and have them take over the vice chairperson positions in a bid to attract younger talent and promote localization in the party.
Chu, 47, has been one of the KMT’s stars along with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強). It had been speculated that Wu would list Chu as a vice chairperson and cultivate him as his successor.
Wu chose Huang, 49, as another nominee for KMT vice chairperson considering her age and fresh image in the party, the article said.
Lee said the KMT would revise its party regulations during the national congress, and one of the missions would be to amend its charter to allow younger party members to be involved in the decision-making process.
The amendment would require that half of the party’s vice chairpersons be younger than 60 years old, and half of the party’s central standing committee members and party delegates be under 50 years old, he said.
Meanwhile, Wu yesterday dismissed allegations that he had called Ma last week to confirm Ma’s unwillingness to double as party chairman.
“There’s no such thing,” Wu said yesterday after attending a memorial ceremony in Taipei.
Ma had vowed to separate party affairs from government affairs, and said he had no plans to double as KMT chairman.
The issue of whether or not Ma should take over the party chairmanship emerged shortly after Ma’s inauguration because of problems cooperating between the KMT caucus and Ma’s administration.
Lee said the party is not likely to touch upon the issue of having Ma take over the chairmanship when revising the regulations as Ma has reiterated he has no intention of taking the position.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese