The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee yesterday accepted the Nomination and Review Committee’s nomination of Hsinchu Deputy County Commissioner Yang Wen-ke (楊文科) as the party’s candidate for county commissioner in the November elections.
KMT Organization and Development Department director Lee Che-hua (李哲華) rejected rumors that the party would continue to work with Republican Party Chairwoman Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), as the KMT now has its own candidate.
Yang is the preferred candidate with no political baggage, and as he is Hakka, would be a bonus for the party in Hsinchu County, which has a large Hakka population, Lee said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Addressing doubts voiced by KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲), a party hopeful for Hsinchu, Lee said that the Central Standing Committee’s approval of the Hsinchu chapter’s nomination has sealed the deal.
Yang would receive the full support of the party, he said, urging all KMT members to maintain solidarity.
“We understand how Lin feels, but he has said that he would not leave the party,” Lee said, adding that he was certain the party could work things out within its system.
The KMT prefers for Lin to continue to focus his efforts in the Legislative Yuan, Lee said.
Allegations that the KMT has abandoned polls and primaries are unfounded, he said.
Polls are just one reference, and the party’s highest authority outside of its national congress, the Central Standing Committee, has decided that there would be no primaries for Hsinchu, he added.
Unlike New Taipei City and Taipei, where primaries were conducted from the very beginning, the party’s plans for Hsinchu took the form of coordination between hopefuls, Lee said.
Commenting on media reports that an unnamed individual offered to donate NT$400 million (US$13.4 million) if the KMT nominated Yang and collaborated with the Republican Party to ensure Hsu’s victory, Lee said the KMT would take legal action against anyone who seeks to slander the party with false, unsubstantiated allegations.
KMT Central Standing Committee member Chiang Shuo-ping (江碩平) said that a lack of local support for Lin led to the party’s decision to continue the coordination process to maximize its chances of winning.
Lin would win polls due to his high profile, but he does not have the hearts of local residents, Chiang said, adding that the party needs to close ranks if it wants to win in the county.
Another committee member, KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), commended KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) hard work to resolve nomination issues, but said that it could have been more prudent to find more flexible methods that would meet with the general approval of all involved.
Miscommunication could have occurred in the decisionmaking process for the nomination, which has led to less-than-satisfactory results, he said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS