Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson candidate Lee Hsin (李新) yesterday urged a rival, KMT acting chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), to resign from her post to ensure a level playing field for all candidates.
In front of several cardboard placards showing his campaign pledges, Lee showed his discontent with what he called the party’s unjust chairperson by-election by beating a drum in front of the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei.
“Both candidates in the KMT’s 2007 chairperson by-election — then-acting chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and then-legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) — stepped down from their posts as party acting chair and Central Standing Committee member respectively to prevent the public from making a fuss about the issue,” Lee said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Lee — who serves as a Taipei City councilor — said Huang should follow the pairs’ example and avoid giving the public the impression that she is “both a player and a referee in the game.”
Lee criticized Hung — who is also vying for the KMT chairpersonship — over her refusal to attend a public forum to be held on Saturday by several KMT-affiliated civic groups founded by younger party members.
The forum, called “Chairperson, may I ask a question?” invites all chairperson candidates to answer queries regarding the party’s future.
“Hung should publicly expound her ideas and values. If she is afraid to attend such an event, how is she going to lead the KMT and enable the party to act as a balance to the Democratic Progressive Party?” Lee said.
“Does Hung really think she can win the by-election lying down? What else can we expect from someone who is so arrogant — even without power?” he asked.
Lee urged KMT headquarters to abolish the 3 percent signature threshold necessary for hopefuls to register their candidacy, a mechanism that he said has been marred by forgery and fabrication.
He also called for transparency in the KMT headquarters’ determination of signature validity, saying they should let candidates know which of the signatures they obtain are deemed invalid rather than simply giving out a number.
Under the terms of the KMT’s by-election regulations, only hopefuls who collect signatures from at least 3 percent of all party members before Sunday can officially register as candidates in the March 26 election.
In related news, KMT Central Standing Committee member Lin Rong-te (林榮德) announced his decision to drop out of the by-election, bringing the number of contenders to four.
“For the sake of party solidarity and the bigger picture, as well as my aspiration to let someone more capable to lead the party and my mother’s strong opposition to my bid, I have determined to withdraw from the race,” Lin said.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
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
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS