With many native Taiwanese lawmakers reportedly threatening to leave the KMT, Lien Chan (連戰) lashed out yesterday at the alleged backer of an attempt to split the party, calling it an attempt "to rape democracy."
"The use of money and power to rape democracy is beneath contempt. For those who have this ability, they should take their money and use it to save the economy and those who are starving and children who can't afford three meals a day. Fifty million [NT dollars] could save a lot of people," Lien said.
DPP lawmakers said that former interior minister Huang Chu-wen (黃主文) is organizing the split with the support of Evergreen tycoon Chang Yung-fa (張榮發). Chang is rumored to have provided financial support to politicians who still follow Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) principles.
The Evergreen Group last night issued a press release denying that Chang had ever provided money to any lawmaker to organize a new political group.
According to the Chinese-language media, more than 20 KMT legislators who share the political views of former president Lee Teng-hui may leave the party soon and establish a new one.
Senior KMT lawmaker Chen Chien-chih (陳健治) said yesterday afternoon that KMT leaders are already aware of the situation and are trying to persuade them to stay.
Lee stepped down as party chairman last year after being blamed for the KMT's defeat in the presidential election. Since then, the party has turned away from Lee's "Taiwan first" path and more openly advocated unification with China. Reports have also listed several KMT lawmakers, including Lin Jih-jia (林志嘉) and Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), as possible members of the new group. Lin has been working to win the KMT's nomination for Taipei County commissioner, while Chen is jockeying for that of Chiayi County commissioner.
Others on the exodus list include Chen Horng-chi (
The schism, which some expect may occur in June or July, would be the third major split in the KMT after those that created the New Party and the People First Party. The new group could become a power to be reckoned with in the legislature, given that as many as 30 political figures, including newcomers from outside the KMT, may join it. The group may also become a "stabilizing force" in the Legislative Yuan by cooperating with the DPP, the report said. The report also said that more than 10 KMT politicians may leave the KMT to join the PFP.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior adviser to the National Security Council told the Taipei Times that close aides to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had discussed the issue and predicted that the KMT would certainly split but not until after the legislative election. "No political party will control a majority in the Legislative Yuan after the election, and we believe that KMT leaders will lose control over party lawmakers," the senior adviser said.
The KMT's legislative majority is the main reason why the party headquarters can still maintain tight control over its lawmakers, the adviser said.
He also said that the KMT now faced a major problem creating a firm, clear consensus on the party's future direction. The KMT has a wide range of politicians who sometimes hold diametrically opposite positions, but Lien is still taking an ambiguous stance, the adviser said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
SECURITY: The New Zealand and Australian navies also sailed military vessels through the Strait yesterday to assert the right of freedom of navigation The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Wednesday made its first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait in response to the intrusion by a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft into Japan’s sovereign airspace last month, Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The Japanese news platform reported that the destroyer JS Sazanamisailed down through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, citing sources in the Japanese government with knowledge of the matter. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the reports at a regular briefing because they concern military operations. Military vessels from New Zealand and Australia also sailed through the Strait on the same day, Wellington’s defense ministry
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