Lin Join-sane (林中森) became the secretary-general of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday, vowing to complete the missions set forth by the party and party chairman. Lin said he hoped to reconcile party affairs with public opinion, so that the voices of people at the grassroots level could get through to the government via the party.
Lin, 67, previously served as Kaohsiung deputy mayor, deputy minister of the interior and Executive Yuan secretary-general. He replaces Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) as KMT secretary-general.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, was supportive of Lin, but reminded him that it was a “tough job” and that he needed to be mentally prepared for it. Ma said the public has seen the party engage in many substantive reforms, but feels they are insufficient.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We hope there will be more reform so that the grand old party can have a new look in its centennial year,” Ma said. “Lin is good at coordinating. His low-key style always enables him to complete his mission.”
He also praised Lin as someone well-versed in a wide range of fields, from relations between the central and local governments to planning and construction, and from social welfare to national parks.
The president commended the Liao for a job well done, saying that he had reluctantly accepted Liao’s request to resign because he had repeatedly asked for more time with his 98-year-old mother.
Liao would not confirm -reports that he will become the head of the Association of East Asian Relations, which handles Taiwan’s relations with Japan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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