Four candidates for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson yesterday vowed to reform the party following its defeat in last month’s presidential and legislative elections, as they registered their candidacy for the by-election next month.
KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) was the first to complete the registration process at KMT headquarters in Taipei yesterday morning, bringing 24,179 signatures from party members — easily exceeding the threshold of 9,600 signatures, or about 3 percent of all KMT members.
“During my signature-collecting process, many KMT members expressed their concern that the party would be finished if it continues to mire itself in ideological divisions between pro-localization and rapid-unification factions,” Chen told reporters.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He said it was an outdated issue and the party should stop concerning itself with pseudo-issues such as this, adding that he would advocate the “middle way” if elected chairpman.
Chen was followed by acting KMT chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), who submitted 67,926 signatures, accompanied by Central Standing Committee member Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), former KMT Chiayi Branch director Chen Cheng-kuan (陳政寬) and other party members.
“The KMT’s repeated defeats signal the need for a complete overhaul. The key to regaining our strength lies in the party’s structures. There are many capable people at the party’s grassroots level and it is imperative that we put the right people in the right positions,” Huang said.
Widely seen as a member of the KMT’s pro-localization faction, Huang said localization has become a subject of political manipulation.
The KMT should listen to and communicate with the public because it was diversity and tolerance that enriched this island, Huang said, adding that mainstream public opinion favors the KMT adhering to the middle way.
Huang’s main opponent, former deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), showed up in the afternoon with 84,822 signatures.
“Each signature represents a party member’s expectations of me. It is a heavy responsibility, but I am prepared to shoulder it with a solemn, steadfast, modest and aggressive heart,” said Hung, who also ran as the party’s presidential candidate before she was replaced by New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫).
Hung, nicknamed “Little Red Pepper” (小辣椒) because of her outspokenness, said she planned to solidify consensus within the party within the shortest possible time, using her spirit of openness, unaffected style and humble attitude.
She also pledged to usher in reforms, reinvigorate people’s passion about the party and repolish the “KMT brand.”
Asked about the party’s stance on localization, Hung said it was pseudo-issue because the KMT has long taken root in the country and become localized.
Last to register was KMT Taipei City Councilor Lee Hsin (李新), who showed up with his sleeves and pants rolled up in an apparent move to demonstrate his determination to get down to work.
Lee, who obtained 28,775 signatures, said the party’s future should not be decided by a select few, but rather by all party members through dialogues.
“If elected chairman, I will be the first party chair to wear only jeans and sneakers. I will live wherever the people want me to, staying in city after city to have face-to-face communications with grassroots party members,” Lee said.
KMT headquarters said a nine-people by-election supervisory committee is to determine the validity of the signatures and announce the list of eligible candidates on Friday.
The by-election is to be held from 8am to 4pm on March 26, it added.
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
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
RSS