The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said it would launch an investigation into a legislative primary dispute between KMT legislators John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) and Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) after Chiang accused Lo of winning a poll yesterday using smear tactics.
In the poll held by the KMT’s Taipei City branch on Friday and Saturday to finalize the legislative candidate for the Zhongshan (中山)-Songshan (松山) electoral district, Lo barely bested her opponent with 35.97 percent support, against Chiang’s 35.39 percent.
After the final results were announced, Chiang issued a protest and blamed Lo for his loss in the poll, calling on the KMT to look into what he called “vicious attacks” against him from Lo’s camp.
“The smear campaign by the Lo camp is a violation of party regulations and the poll results were distorted because of the vicious attacks against me,” Chiang said in a written statement. “I have reported her violations to the party and await an investigation to be launched.”
Lo defended her victory, saying she would spare no efforts to win the seat for the KMT.
“A victory is a victory, even if it is only by one vote. The KMT needs a candidate who has passion and is capable. I will not disappoint President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the KMT if the party nominates me,” she said.
KMT Taipei City branch director Pan Chia-sen (潘家森) said the branch would start an investigation into the dispute and present the results to the KMT’s nomination committee for a final decision on the matter.
The KMT completed its first round of nominations for legislative election last week. It is scheduled to complete the second and third phases of the nomination process on May 11 and May 25.
Pan said the party would not base its selections solely on poll results and would continue negotiation to finalize the list.
After weeks of speculation on a possible merger of the presidential and legislative elections — a move supported by the KMT — the Central Election Commission last week announced the two elections would be held simultaneously on Jan. 14 next year. Following the announcement, Democratic Progressive Party legislators, fearing the move would create a four-month lame-duck presidency before the next -president steps into the -Presidential Office on May 20, proposed a constitutional amendment and said the merger should be postponed until the 2016 elections.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS