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.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS