The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday sought to remain above the fray within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), saying the effect of a pan-green split in Kaohsiung and a possible one in Tainan over the KMT’s own candidates was unclear.
Following Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing’s (楊秋興) unofficial declaration that he would join the Greater Kaohsiung mayoral election, Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) appears likely to join the race in Tainan. Both men are DPP members and both lost in May’s party primaries, to Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and DPP Legislator William Lai (賴清德) respectively.
KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said his party would assess the impact of the pan-green split, but whether the party will benefit from the splits remained unknown.
“We’ve said that the KMT will not count on winning based on the DPP splits, and so the DPP should not shift the focus and blame their integration problems on us,” he said.
KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said the party had not tried to persuade Yang to split the pan-green vote by running, and he denied the party was involved in the possible Tainan split.
KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順), who is running in Kaohsiung, and its Tainan candidate, Kuo Tien-tsai (郭添財), have spared no efforts to promote the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) when meeting with local residents, and more voters in the south agreed that the ECFA and other government measures would improve their lives, Su said
“The DPP should understand that people in the south can no longer be persuaded just by pro-independence ideology, and it won’t get as much support if it failed to present solid policies,” he said.
The KMT will hold a provisional congress today and tomorrow at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, and use the occasion to campaign for the November’s special municipality elections.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will host a one-hour campaign section this morning in his capacity as KMT chairman, leading party officials and members to cheer the five candidates.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
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
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
RSS