Outgoing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member Hsiao Shui-li (蕭淑麗) on Monday announced that she would be withdrawing from the party to run as an independent in the Chiayi City mayoral election in November, a move that could jeopardize the KMT’s chance of maintaining its control over the only pan-blue-governed administrative region south of the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪).
The river is seen as the symbolic dividing line between those who identify themselves with the KMT and prefer closer ties with China, and those who support the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and other pan-green parties.
Hsiao has been a KMT member for more than three decades, during which she served as a representative of the now-defunct National Assembly before assuming leadership of the Chiayi City Farmers’ Association.
She belongs to the so-called “Hsiao family clan” (蕭家班), one of the most powerful and well-connected factions in the city.
At the press conference where she made the announcement, Hsiao cut a magnified copy of her KMT membership card in half before smashing two cardboard signs bearing the KMT and the DPP’s emblems with a baseball bat as she urged the electorate to use their votes to bring down what she called the nation’s “vicious” two-party system.
The press conference was attended by nearly 1,000 people backing Hsiao, Chiayi City Council Speaker Tsai Kuei-ssu (蔡貴絲) and Deputy Speaker Chiu Fang-chin (邱芳欽), both also of the KMT.
Hsiao said she was refusing to compete in the ruling party’s primary because of a previous “unpleasant experience.”
“I participated in the KMT’s primary for a legislator by-election in Chiayi in 2006. I beat fellow contender Chiang Yi-hsiung (江義雄) in an inter-party vote. I led Chiang by a small margin in two public polls and trailed him in only one survey, but the KMT still chose him as its candidate,” she said.
Hsiao said Chiayi voters had lost faith in the KMT because of its longstanding disregard for the city’s need for economic development, while the DPP had fueled political infighting by manipulating the public’s sentiments.
“We must not let the city become a political tool … which is why I have decided to rise above politics and be a mayor for all people,” she said.
When reached for comment, the chairman of the KMT’s Chiayi City branch, Tsai Ming-hsien (蔡明顯), said he was “shocked” by Hsiao’s decision and expressed regret over the “split in the party,” but added that he respected her move and wished her the best.
So far, three KMT members have announced their candidacy for the party’s primary for the Chiayi mayorship, including Chiayi City councilors Chang Hsiu-hua (張秀華) and Kuo Ming-pin (郭明賓), as well as former National Youth Commission minister Chen Yi-chen (陳以真), who is reportedly the preferred candidate among the KMT’s higher echelons.
With the ruling party set to conduct a public poll to choose its candidate for the Chiayi race, critics say it might lose the city to the DPP should it fail to cooperate with Hsiao in the election.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS