Former justice minister Liao Cheng-hao (廖正豪) announced his resignation from the KMT yesterday, in what is interpreted as a gesture of support for independent presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜).
Liao made his announcement at a news conference yesterday, but stopped short of formally declaring his support for Soong. "I will explain things in detail at the right time," he said.
Liao is widely expected to take up the post of Soong's campaign manager.
Liao's resignation came one day before the opening ceremony for Soong's national campaign headquarters in Taipei and one day after former Legislative Yuan speaker Liu Sung-fan (
The KMT reacted angrily to Liao's resignation.
"I'm afraid Mr Liao might be questioned about severely criticizing the party and quitting the party at this sensitive moment," party spokesman Huang Hui-chen (黃輝珍) said.
Liao, a member of a powerful Chiayi County family, is believed to have snubbed the KMT partly because of his highly publicized row with Premier Vincent Siew (
DPP Secretary-General You Hsi-kun called both Liao and Liu "frustrated politicians" and said the impact of Liao's resignation will be minimal.
Liao's support will not significantly increase popular support for Soong's camp, You said.
You also called Soong's campaign team "an adventurist composition of frustrated politicians," rather than an alliance based on political concepts.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work