After months of hemming and hawing, the KMT yesterday officially called it quits with its estranged former chairman, Lee Teng-hui (
The party yesterday revoked Lee's membership, saying he violated party rules.
PHOTO: AFP
KMT members have been upset with Lee's carousing with the Taiwan Solidarity Union, a rival political group. They're also infuriated with his criticism of the party.
Lee himself is angry with the KMT's infidelity to the pro-Taiwan and localization policies that he worked to implement during his 12 years in power.
Chen Kang-chin (
But the KMT had to go forward with its long-contemplated move, saying "the situation has proven to be irreversible despite all the efforts that have been made."
Chen also said that the KMT had to break off its relationship with Lee for the good of the party. "Any party with organization and discipline can never tolerate malicious defamation made against it by its members," he said.
Chen said committee members attending yesterday's meeting agreed that Lee had committed "severe violations" of the party's charter. Lee has betrayed the party's resolutions, blemished its reputation and harmed the party's interests, Chen said.
Huang Ta-chou (黃大洲), Lee's former student and a committee member, stayed clear of yesterday's meeting.
Huang said he didn't agree with Lee's recent conduct, but added that it was inconvenient for him to express any opinion on the matter in light of his relationship with Lee.
Lee's support of the TSU has been seen by the KMT as an open challenge to the party. The former president has said the TSU's ideals are consistent with his own, and that he'll do everything possible to help the new political party achieve victory in the year-end legislative elections.
During a Taichung rally on Sunday, Lee even challenged the KMT to kick him out of the party, but he denied he was the one that needed discipline.
Instead, Lee said KMT members who have strayed from the anti-communist path and pandered to leaders in Beijing should be punished first.
Lee's Sunday remarks were made in response to a letter the KMT sent to him two days earlier, in which the party urged him to quit on his own accord if he "doesn't identify with the party's ideals."
The letter was written after attempts to meet with Lee in person failed.
According to the KMT's definition, a "revocation of membership" is a lighter punishment than "expulsion."
Those who have their membership revoked can have their membership restored one year later. Members who are expelled are not allowed to rejoin until two years after their ouster.
Lifetime membership in the party runs NT$10,000.
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"The party has its rules, and we have to act according to the system," Lien said.
Lee is the first former KMT chairman to be ousted from the party in its 107-year history, though he's not the first party leader to get the boot.
In 1995 -- under Lee's leadership -- the KMT revoked the membership of two vice chairmen, Lin Yang-kang (
Former Taiwan Provincial Governor James Soong (
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying