The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is planning to set up an “elite training class” to bring in more talent as the party prepares for the seven-in-one elections scheduled for 2014, party sources said.
The party has undergone a personnel reshuffle following its win in the Jan. 14 presidential election. Besides undertaking party reform, a major objective of the party is to launch a recruitment program as well as a training project for new talent, the sources said.
However, it had been rumored that several recruitment qualifications were set: Potential candidates had to be aged between 25 and 45, have a degree and not be descended from a political family.
The rumored requirements were said to have aroused anger among some party members, leading President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as party chairman, to dismiss the rumor, saying no such qualifications had ever been proposed, sources said.
The party has reportedly launched its recruitment scheme under the aegis of the “Chung-hsing [rejuvenation] Elite Group,” which was launched in 2004 by then-KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) to offer training to newly recruited members.
The party’s Organizational Development Committee and the National Development Institute have been put in charge of the program, sources said. Sources said the number of trainees might exceed the previous 400 trained by the Chunghsing Elite Group.
Complaints have been filed over political families monopolizing grassroots level politics and blocking new talent from emerging, the sources said.
Translated by Stacy Hsu, Staff Writer
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS