President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday instructed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to spare no effort in campaigning for the party’s candidates in November’s special municipality elections.
Ma, in his capacity as KMT chairman, demanded that the party’s Huang Fuxing branch fully cooperate with the party’s campaigning schedule for the elections when he presided over its leadership hand-over ceremony.
The Huang Fuxing branch was established in 1956 by former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) to attract the support of veterans. The branch is composed of retired military members, their families and other deep-blue members, and has played a crucial role in election campaigns with its more than 200,000 members.
Ma yesterday thanked outgoing director Wang Wen-hsieh (王文燮) for taking over after the KMT lost the presidential election to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2000, and said he expected incoming director King En-chin (金恩慶) to maintain the branch as a key component of the KMT.
“As an important part of the KMT, I hope the Huang Fuxing branch will cooperate with the party’s strategies and help the party win in upcoming elections,” he said yesterday at KMT headquarters.
As the five special municipality elections approach, the KMT has determined candidates in four cities — Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) for Taipei City, Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) for Sinbei City, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) for Greater Taichung and KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) for Greater Kaohsiung.
The party remains in negotiations to determine its candidate for Greater Tainan.
KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said yesterday that the party had conducted two polls in the city, adding that two hopefuls — former KMT legislators Kuo Tien-tsai (郭添財) and Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) — had tied in both polls.
Su said the KMT would finalize its Greater Tainan candidate by the end of the month.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
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
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS