The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League yesterday called on the party to postpone its chairperson by-election.
Former KMT chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) last month resigned after the party’s defeats in the Jan. 11 elections.
The KMT should put off the election and help with prevention efforts for the 2019 novel coronavirus, KMT Central Review Committee member Chang Ya-ping (張雅屏) told a news conference outside KMT headquarters in Taipei.
Photo: Shih Hsiao-kuang, Taipei Times
Efforts surrounding a petition to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) should also be put on hold in the interest of cooperating on disease prevention, he said.
Chang had expressed interest in running in the by-election, but later decided not to.
Former KMT Youth League secretary-general Lee Zheng-hao (李正皓) said he doubted whether either of the two candidates registered for the by-election — former KMT vice chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), a former Taipei mayor, and KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) — would arouse public interest.
The two candidates also did not wish to touch upon sensitive topics, Lee added.
Although the KMT has said it is not pro-China, it has been unwilling to deal with controversial legislator-at-large-elect Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), a retired army lieutenant general, or the “image associated with Han Kuo-yu,” he said.
The KMT should expel Wu Sz-huai and not replace him; critically examine Han’s public image and have him face the recall petition on his own; and critically examine the party’s “reactionary culture” and apologize to members that it had expelled or punished for criticizing it, Lee said.
An incoming chairperson would only hold the post for one year and two months, so it would be more helpful to reform the party as a whole rather than elect a new chairperson, Lee said.
Former KMT Youth League head Lin Chia-hsing (林家興) said he felt the by-election was being rushed, and that the KMT was not allowing enough time for candidates to discuss their political views.
The one day planned for discussion — Wednesday next week — would be insufficient for those inside and outside the party to understand the candidates’ positions on party reform issues, Lin said.
The league was attempting to address this problem by holding a mock debate session at the news conference and inviting former high-level party members, party workers and assistants to participate in it, he said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS