The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday reversed its decision to skip the primary process for the year-end Hualien County commissioner election amid pressure from would-be candidates upset at the party’s plan to nominate Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川).
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said last night that the party would hold a primary for the nomination to determine the candidate in a fair manner.
Yeh will make a decision within the next few days on whether he will stay at the DOH, Wu said, adding that more details about the primary would be announced soon and the nomination finalized by Sept. 12.
Wu made the remarks after meeting Yang Po-ren (楊博仁) of the party’s Hualien County branch and KMT Organization and Development Committee director Huang Chao-yuan (黃昭元) at party headquarters.
If Yeh, who earlier refused to participate in a primary, seeks the nomination, he would be willing to vie with the five contenders who registered for the primary before it was scrapped in May, Wu said.
Yeh’s rivals for the post had protested the decision to skip the primary and continued to campaign, raising concerns of a possible split in the vote.
The KMT is also trying to prevent splits in its support base in Taoyuan County, Hsinchu County and Taitung County.
In Taoyuan County, negotiations for the commissioner election failed, with KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚), son of Wu Poh-hsiung, and Taoyuan County Council Speaker Tseng Chong-yi (曾忠義) both saying they would run for the post.
The KMT will hold a primary today for the post.
In Taitung County, the KMT nominated Legislator Justin Huang (黃健庭) in a primary in May, but Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-cheng (鄺麗貞) said she would not be discouraged from running for re-election.
In Hsinchu County, Council Speaker Chang Bi-ching (張碧琴) has announced plans to run for the commissionership although the party has nominated KMT Legislator Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳).
Wu Den-yih said the party was having difficulties in these counties, but would continue negotiating between party members to prevent a split in the vote.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS