Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Wu Cheng-tien (吳成典) yesterday ignored possible disciplinary action from the KMT and established campaign headquarters to announce his candidacy in the year-end Kinmen County commissioner election.
Wu lost the party primary to Kinmen County Councilor Li Wo-shi (李沃士) earlier this year. The KMT nominated Li in June.
Announcing his bid as an independent, Wu said the KMT’s primary process did not proceed in a fair manner, adding that he would seek to serve Kinmen residents on his own effort.
“I will accept the punishment given according to the KMT regulations, and I will fight a rational and decent battle to seek local voters’ recognition,” Li said.
Li’s announcement created another pan-blue split for the KMT in local government elections scheduled for Dec. 5, with the party scrambling to handle splits in Hualien, Taoyuan, Taitung and Hsinchu.
To prevent another split in Taoyuan County, KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and party secretary-general Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) yesterday visited Taoyuan County Council Speaker Tseng Chun-yi (曾忠義) to seek his support for the election.
Tseng was defeated by Wu Poh-hsiung’s son, KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚), in the party primary.
Tseng declined to confirm whether he would give up his bid and said he would make a decision in a few days.
As for the Yunlin County commissioner election, Chan said the party would hold a poll among four hopefuls and present the result to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). Ma, who is taking over the party chairmanship on Oct. 17, will finalize the candidate before the deadline for candidate registration on Friday, Wu Poh-hsiung said.
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 Pi-chin (張碧琴) has announced plans to run for the commissionership although the party has nominated KMT Legislator Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳).
In Hualien County, Hualien County Deputy Commissioner Chang Chi-ming (張志明) withdrew from the party to run in the election as an independent against the party’s nominee Tu Li-hua (杜麗華).
Chan said he would soon visit Hualien County Commissioner Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山), who is reportedly supporting Chang Chi-ming, to seek party integration in the county.
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