The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) could face yet another crisis other than its dismal presidential campaign, as a group of pro-localization members are allegedly planning to form a splinter group to force KMT headquarters to respond directly to their calls for a change of candidate.
According to people familiar with the matter, the plan to establish a new party — which would be called the “Taiwan Nationalist Party Alliance” (台灣國民黨聯盟) — is spearheaded by several influential local members, including senior presidential adviser Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) and former Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味).
Their primary goal is to compel the party’s leaders to take more proactive measures to address the KMT’s predicament in the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, the sources said, hinting at the removal of Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as the KMT’s presidential candidate.
If KMT headquarters fail to take action, they might inspire a bigger wave of defections than the one seen in previous months, they said.
The allegations come as Hung continues to be dogged by rumors that party leadership is planning to replace her as she trails in opinion polls.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) are rumored to be Hung’s likely replacements.
The Ministry of the Interior confirmed that it had received an application for the founding of a group known as the Taiwan Nationalist Party Alliance, but temporarily rejected it, pending clarification from the applicants on whether the alliance should be categorized as a “political group” or a “political party.”
However, when asked to comment on the matter, most KMT lawmakers either claimed they had no knowledge of the plan, or refused to comment on the issue.
KMT Legislator Chen Ken-te (陳根德) said he was unaware of the plan and refused to comment on a hypothetical question.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), upon hearing the words “Taiwan Nationalist Party Alliance,” said that he “cannot comment.”
KMT Legislator Lu Chia-chen (盧嘉辰) said he had little information about the plan, but urged party headquarters to face up to voices of discontent if they did exist.
“The KMT must defuse this crisis at once, rather than treating it lightly or turning a blind eye to the problem. We must not let the party collapse,” Lu said.
Hung dismissed the persistent rumors, saying on Sunday that she did not care since “everything is possible in an election season.”
“All that matters is that I make my values and principles known to the public, so that they can make the right choice,” the presidential candidate said.
She added that she was not worried about the KMT turning the rumors into reality.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS