The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has called on members to pay “a special party fee” of NT$2,000 per person in order to “save [the party] from demise,” with KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said to be ready to pay her share tomorrow to set an example.
The KMT said it would launch events calling for the “special party fee” to protect its survival and a “NT$1,000 donation” drive on the eve of Retrocession Day on Tuesday “in order to defend the Republic of China’s (ROC) constitutional system of freedom, democracy and rule of law.”
Hung is to lead the party’s central leadership, city and county chapter officials and Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) military veterans’ branch officials to pay the special party fees tomorrow while attending a “safeguard the ROC Constitution and donate NT$1,000” event that is to be held in New Taipei City tomorrow night, which is public-oriented, as opposed to the call for special party fees made to members.
PHOTO: CNA
The party said it hopes that members and the public can support the KMT to “hold out the hand of justice” and “check a Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] regime that is marching toward fascism and green terror.”
The special party fee has been set at a minimum of NT$2,000, although members can donate as much as they want, the party said.
Members who contribute during a stipulated period — from Tuesday through Dec. 25 — would receive a letter from the party chairwoman and a reprint of the certificate for the Revolutionary Party when it was founded by Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) in 1914 following the failed Second Revolution against Yuan Shikai (袁世凱) in 1913, “which is to symbolize the spirit of the [ROC’s] founding father in the Second Revolution by supporting the KMT in supervising an unjust and unconstitutional regime,” the KMT said.
Members of the public who participate in the NT$1,000 donation activity would be thanked with a reprint of the “receipt of the just pay of the Chinese Revolutionary Army” published by the Tongmenghui in 1911, a year before the founding of the ROC, which was issued so that revolutionary army soldiers could collect their pay.
It has been reported that some party workers have complained that the “special party fees” campaign calls for “reluctant donations” from party members, and have asked party headquarters to pay them their salaries before they donate.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) said that the event is simply an expression of the idea that the KMT can “save the party ourselves” and is not compulsory, adding that there would be no consequences for members who do not make contributions.
Additional Reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
RSS