Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communication Committee director Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday rebutted accusations that the party was seeking to benefit itself by planning to hold the legislative and presidential elections on the same day, adding that the KMT would respect the Central Election Commission’s (CEC) decision on the issue.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential contender Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who temporarily stepped down as chairperson of the party to run in the primary, made the accusations on Monday.
The next presidential poll is currently scheduled for March next year, while the next legislative elections are likely to be held in December this year or January next year, based on existing rules.
MERGER DECISION
If a decision is made to merge the two elections, it is likely that the presidential election would be moved forward because the law requires that legislative elections be held before a new legislative session starts on Feb. 1.
The CEC is scheduled to hold a meeting on April 19 to determine whether the two elections should be combined amid challenges that moving the date of the presidential election forward two months could disenfranchise as many as 50,000 first-time voters.
On Monday, Tsai said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration had pushed to combine the two elections because it lacked confidence, adding that the KMT was seeking its own gain via the proposal.
‘CHANGE OF STANCE’
In response, Su yesterday said the KMT respected the CEC and public opinion over the issue, and urged Tsai not to change her stance on the issue based on political considerations.
The DPP, he said, had said it did not oppose combining the two elections after a closed-door meeting on March 6, and Tsai had also been supportive of reducing the number of elections.
“Chairperson Tsai ignored her and the DPP’s previous comments and criticized the KMT’s stance on the issue. She should think about her own remarks and stop being a political chameleon,” he said.
Additional reporting by staff writer
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all