The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday ejected a party member for defying its ban on campaign activities while relief efforts continue amid the devastation wrought by Typhoon Morakot.
KMT Evaluation and Discipline Committee head Juan Kang-meng (阮剛猛) said Fan Heng-chih (范姮枝), vice chairwoman of the party’s branch in Kaohsiung’s Jiaxian Township (甲仙), organized a gathering at Kaohsiung’s Grand Hotel on Monday for candidates in internal KMT elections.
Parts of Jiaxian, one of the hardest hit areas, were wiped out by landslides early on Sunday morning.
PHOTO: CNA
Juan said Fan’s actions constituted a serious violation of the party’s ban.
The party on Monday postponed its election for central party members until Saturday next week and banned candidates from engaging in campaign activities in the wake of Typhoon Morakot.
The 300 candidates have been told to refrain from attending gatherings to canvass support for their election bids, but are allowed to distribute campaign messages via text messages, phone calls and mail.
Juan said the party revoked Fan’s membership, while participants in the gathering received “harsh warnings.”
The party spoke to each of them by telephone and warned them not to repeat the mistake, Juan said.
Meanwhile, the KMT yesterday thanked China’s Taiwan Affairs Office for expressing concern about the disaster.
KMT spokesman Lee Chien-jung (李建榮) said both sides should cherish the mutual demonstrations of goodwill and friendly interaction during times of crisis, adding that the KMT and Taiwanese have offered assistance on occasions when China was reeling from serious flooding and earthquakes.
“Mainland compatriots are concerned about and empathize with the major losses of life and property in the central and southern areas,” the Taiwan Affairs Office said in a telegram sent to the KMT, adding that it was willing to provide any necessary assistance.
At a separate setting yesterday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused the ruling party of being apathetic toward disaster victims.
The DPP said the KMT should stand in solidarity with the flood victims and pour its energy into relief efforts rather than focusing on campaigning for the year-end elections.
“Striving to devote all of our efforts, time and resources to relief efforts, the party has decided to hold off on all campaign activity for one week. But it is regrettable that the KMT continues to woo voters during this time of crisis,” DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
Cheng said most of the KMT members who went to survey the affected areas with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) were the party’s nominees for the year-end local elections, not incumbent county commissioners.
This shows that they were there simply to rally support for their candidacy, Cheng said.
Although the KMT has said all its campaign activities would be suspended for one week, many pan-blue politicians continued to hold campaign dinners, he said, urging KMT officials to put relief efforts above their own political interests.
Cheng said that following the Sichuan Earthquake in May last year, many prominent Taiwanese businesses donated money and goods to help Chinese quake victims.
He urged the businesses to repeat the gesture for their own people.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS