The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is confronted with an unprecedented challenge in next year’s legislative elections, particularly in central and southern Taiwan, according to party sources.
The KMT would find it difficult to nominate legislative candidates for the six perceived “difficult” districts in central and southern Taiwan, including districts in Yunlin, Chiayi and Pingtung, KMT sources said party members who declined to be named.
The grim picture is a result of the KMT government’s perceived poor performance, as well as the low popularity of its presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-Chu (洪秀柱), adding that these factors, combined with rumors of defections by KMT politicians demoralized KMT grassroots supporters, the sources said.
Central and southern Taiwan are the traditional strongholds of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the few KMT politicians in office are at risk of losing their seats, according to KMT members involved in the campaign, adding that the party now worries that the pan-green camp would try to expand its dominance of central Taiwan.
Although the KMT is traditionally the stronger force in the north, multiple districts are now at risk, party sources said.
The KMT also anticipates a more challenging election year in northern Taiwan compared with the 2012 election, and has already tasked local organizations and activists with warding off members who plan to abandon their party affiliation, according to sources in the pan-blue camp.
However, one party member expressed skepticism about the notion that more KMT candidates would abandon ship.
“Do they really think they would have an easier time running without their party membership?” the anonymous party member said, adding that leaving the KMT would be useless because next year’s elections would still be the traditional showdown between the pan-blue and the pan-green camps.
According to party sources, the KMT has not decided whom to nominate in the six problematic electoral districts that include the second electoral district of Yunlin County, the first and second electoral districts of Chiayi County and Chiayi City, and the first and third electoral districts of Pingtung County.
The KMT should come up with a coherent strategy for its pick of candidates for Yunlin and Chiayi electoral districts, party sources said.
The KMT had previously selected independent candidate and surgeon Weng Shou-liang (翁壽良) to represent it in Chiayi City, but the decision was met with strong resistance from inside the party, and it might instead put legislator-at-large Wu Yu-ren (吳育仁) on the ballot card, according to KMT sources.
For Chiayi County, the KMT is considering the nomination of Lin Chiang-Chuan (林江釧), who is the son of Dongshi Township (東石) Mayor Lin Chun-Chin (林純金), for the first district, while County Councilor Lin Yu-ling (林于玲) is being considered for the second district, party sources said.
All 73 district legislator seats, six Aboriginal district representatives and 34 legislator-at-large seats are to be selected in next year’s Jan. 16 elections.
In related news, an assessment conducted by the DPP suggested that the DPP is on track to win a legislative majority, taking 57 seats out of a total of 113, including district legislators and legislators-at-large, while the number of KMT legislators elected would drop to about 40.
Additional reporting by Tzou Jiing-wen
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS