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
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The show, performed on the earthquake’s 15th anniversary, drew more than 100 spectators, some of whom arrived two hours before the show to secure a good viewing spot. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love
RSS