Jhongli Deputy Mayor Lin Hsiang-mei (林香美) yesterday said she was quitting the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) after alleging on Monday that the party had deceived her during the nomination process for next month’s Taoyuan County legislative by-election.
The KMT nominated former KMT legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) as its candidate for the by-election, scheduled for Feb. 27.
Lin yesterday told a press conference that she would run in the election, adding that she would push for reform via a “middle way.”
On Monday, Lin and Taoyuan County Councilor Wu Yu-tung (吳餘東) alleged they were misled by their party during the nomination process.
Lin had registered her candidacy before the KMT nominated Chen as its candidate.
Rebutting the allegations, the KMT’s Culture and Communications Committee issued a statement, saying they “did not tally with the facts” and that Lin and Wu “twisted” what had happened.
At the time, the KMT threatened to expel from the party individuals defying a party ban from registering if they did not drop out by Friday.
The committee said initial negotiations between aspiring candidates were handled by local “heavyweights” and the party headquarters was not involved.
Opinion polls conducted by the KMT headquarters showed that Jhongli Mayor Ye Bu-liang (葉步樑) topped the list, followed by Lin, Chen and Wu Yu-tung, the statement said.
During the initial negotiation process, the statement said, the party was considering nominating Chen if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) were to select former DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) as its flag bearer. The party would nominate Ye or Lin if the DPP named current Taoyuan County Councilor Huang Jen-chu (黃仁杼) as its candidate, it said.
The DPP eventually nominated Huang, but the KMT negotiations broke down. The statement said Lin did not obtain the party’s consent before she registered her candidacy because of “personal grievances,” further complicating the situation.
The committee said they did not nominate Ye or Lin because it did not want them to attack each other. The party decided to pick Chen after KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) intervened because Chen was thought to have the best chance of winning.
The statement said Wu was never in the running because he lagged behind in the polls and King had told him in person during a meeting on Dec. 7 that he would not be selected.
The Taoyuan by-election will fill the vacancy left by KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚), who resigned after winning last month’s Taoyuan County commissioner election.
Three more by-elections will be held concurrently on Feb. 27 in Hsinchu, Chiayi and Hualien. The by-elections are being held after three lawmakers won the city mayor and county commissioner elections last month.
They are Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳) of the KMT who won the Hsinchu County commissioner election, Chang Hwa-kuan (張花冠) of the DPP, who secured Chiayi County and Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁), who withdrew from the KMT to run as an independent and prevailed in the Hualien County commissioner election.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
RSS