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.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS