Seven Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee members, including legislators Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) and Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), have announced their resignations from the committee to reform the party following its defeats in Saturday’s elections.
The party must thoroughly review its losses in the presidential and legislative elections and promote reforms, Johnny Chiang said on Facebook late on Monday.
Saying every single party member is responsible for the KMT’s defeats, he added that he would resign from the committee and urged its other members to follow suit.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“To regain the trust of the people, the KMT must undergo a complete transformation,” Johnny Chiang said.
After all committee members resign, the party should form a provisional decisionmaking committee consisting of KMT mayors, county councilors, council speakers and a number of legislators to lead the party as it reforms its policy stance and power structure, he said.
Younger lawmakers who are competent and receptive to the public’s needs, such as KMT legislators Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) and Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), should be promoted to the party’s upper management, he added.
Within several hours, six more committee members announced that they would join Johnny Chiang in resigning from the committee with the aim of reforming the party.
They were legislators Chiang Wan-an, Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) and Shen Chih-huei (沈智慧), legislator-elect Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), Changhua County Council Speaker Hsien Tien-lin (謝典林) and Taipei City Councilor William Hsu (徐弘庭).
While KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) had said that he would formally tender his resignation at a committee meeting today, Hsu said that the committee “does not need to and should not decide on Wu’s resignation.”
Asked outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday if he intends to run for chairman after Wu steps down, Johnny Chiang said that “the chairmanship election is not a priority at this stage.”
People are more concerned about whether the KMT can review its mistakes, act responsibly and understand the public’s wishes, he said.
Asked the same question, Chiang Wan-an said that irrespective of his position, he would do his best to promote reforms in the party.
He added that he resigned from the committee because its current decisionmaking model “can no longer quickly and effectively respond to changes in the public’s will.”
Separately, committee member Lee Chao-ping (李昭平) said that while he agrees that all committee members should resign, if they do so immediately, it could cause today’s meeting to be canceled.
Without the meeting, Wu might be allowed to remain in his post instead of taking responsibility for the electoral defeats, he said.
Meanwhile, the KMT said in a written statement that all committee members’ terms ended in October last year, but elections had been postponed due to Saturday’s polls.
As a result, their resignations are a nonissue, the party said.
Wu and all executive-level members involved in the elections would resign at today’s meeting, it said.
A chairperson by-election and committee elections would be held on March 7, it added.
Additional reporting by CNA
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility
RSS