Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), who represents an electoral district in Hsinchu County, on Tuesday night announced her withdrawal from the party, saying that Taiwan needs more than just the choices of “blue and green” — referring to colors representing the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and their allies.
Hsu yesterday denied that her decision was influenced by the election of her brother, Hsu Shih-hsun (徐世勳), who ran as an independent for a Taipei city council seat last year. Before the election, Hsu Shih-hsun had received the backing of Taipei Mayor — then candidate — Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
In a statement on Monday, Hsu Hsin-ying said she had joined the KMT to realize the promises she had made to the electorate, and her decision to leave the party “is no different, which is to do more of what people expect me to do and realize the pledges I have made to the public.”
Photo: Tsai Meng-shang, Taipei Times
She told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) in Hsinchu on Tuesday that she wants to “keep a voice” in politics that differs from the two major parties’ regular exchanges of barbs and vitriol.
She said the KMT is used to being the nation’s biggest party and the DPP complacently views itself as the major voice of opposition, and she sees herself and other politicians with new ideas trapped within this dichotomy.
“Each time [the KMT caucus] called a ‘highest level of mobilization’ [which means a lawmaker’s absence would be heavily punished by the party], I became stuck in the Legislative Yuan, unable to serve local interests,” she said.
Hsu yesterday said in the Legislative Yuan that she has chosen to focus her efforts locally as there are still problems to be addressed concerning everyday life, such as running water, education and medical care, and that the political stalemate between the two main parties had thwarted any new path.
Asked whether she was not able to make changes within the party, Hsu said: “It has been three years,” and Taiwanese politics has not progressed for the past 30 years.
It has been rumored that she would join a new political party formed by former People First Party legislator Chen Cheng-sheng (陳振盛).
Hsu refused to respond to the speculation directly and asked reporters to pose the question to the person spreading the information.
Hsu denied her resignation was connected to the KMT’s rout in last year’s elections or to fears over her candidacy at next year’s legislative elections, as it had been said that other members of the KMT had been eyeing her constituency.
However, KMT caucus whip Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said he suspected Hsu’s withdrawal was a result of her concern about expected competition for her legislative seat.
It is unlikely that Hsu’s decision would trigger a “party-quitting trend,” as some have speculated, Lai said.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee Director Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) quoted KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) as saying that “leaving the party, which is currently encountering difficulties, might not be the best way to go.”
He added that Chu wanted Hsu to stay on and push for reforms within the party.
The KMT would continue its attempts to persuade Hsu to stay, as her application for the withdrawal “has not yet taken effect,” Lin said.
With Hsu’s withdrawal, the KMT would be left with 62 seats in the legislature, still a strong majority against the DPP’s 37 seats, with seven belonging to small parties or having no party affiliation.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS