The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) legislator-at-large list leaves a lot to be desired.
While the KMT’s nomination of representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is commendable, DPP spokesperson Kang Yu-cheng (康裕成) said the rest of the list showed the KMT had not cut its ties with so-called “black gold” politicians and local factions.
“At first glance, [the list] appeared refreshing, but as you scroll down the list, your heart sinks,” she told a press conference. “The 34-member list seemed to be part of [President] Ma [Ying-jeou (馬英九)] and his top aide, King Pu-tsung’s (金溥聰), plan to squeeze out party members whose views differ from theirs.”
Wu Yu-jen (吳育仁) and Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉), who ranked seventh and 10th on the list, both told acquaintances that they are members of the “Knife Gang” — suggesting their relations with King, who has been nicknamed “King the Knife,” Kang said.
Female candidates Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄), Wang Mei-chih (王美只) and Wu Chen Chiung-chiu (吳陳瓊秋) are all wives of KMT politicians who were involved in bribery or financial scandal cases, while Hsu Teh-hsin (徐德韾), who ranked 27th on the list, was involved in a controversial NT$2 billion (US$66.2 million) land development case in Hsinchu, Kang said.
In other developments, Ma yesterday met with Taiwan Organization for Disadvantaged Patients secretary-general Yang Yu-hsing (楊玉欣) — who is on the legislator-at-large list — and representatives of other civic groups.
In response to Yang’s plea for the government to allocate more money for social welfare programs, Ma said the government would take her advice seriously and work to implement it.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS