Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday criticized a decision by the party to abolish a requirement that legislator-at-large nominees must have been KMT members for at least three years.
While some said the move was unfair to loyal KMT veterans, others speculated whether there was a hidden agenda behind the decision to make it possible for "specific non-KMT individuals" to be nominated.
KMT Legislator Hou Tsai-feng (
"The party should still prioritize party loyalty when selecting candidates," said Hou, a legislator-at-large from Kaohsiung City.
Aside from loyalty, Hou said that the party should also take into account people's contribution to the KMT when considering candidates for legislator-at-large nominations.
Being nominated as legislator-at-large guarantees the possibility of a seat in the Legislative Yuan without having to hit the campaign trail, depending on how many seats the party wins in the legislative elections.
Explaining the reasoning behind the change, KMT Spokesman Alex Tsai (
KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖), however, echoed Hou's comments and said the removal of the membership regulation was unfair and would have a negative impact on the morale of party members.
"The abolishment of the three-year membership requirement means that people could be nominated as legislators-at-large even if they have only been a registered member for one day," said Chen, who is seeking re-election in Taipei City's second constituency.
"The change was tailored specifically to suit certain individuals," he said.
He was assumed to be referring to individuals such as former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良), former DPP National Assembly representative Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) and independent Legislator Sisy Chen (陳文茜), who have all allied themselves with the pan-blue camp and served as advisors to the KMT-People First Party alliance during the presidential election campaign.
Chen also criticized the way in which the party compiles its list of nominees.
"It is like `closed-door politics,' where the decision over who to be named on the list falls in the hands of a handful of high-ranking party officials," Chen said, adding that despite being a member of the party's Central Standing Committee, he did not know who will be on the list.
"I don't believe that the KMT, being a decades-old political party, does not have any talented members good enough to be nominated, but must rely on recruiting outsiders," Chen said.
The KMT's Central Standing Committee yesterday decided to hold a plenary session on Sept. 25, during which the names of the legislator-at-large nominees will be announced for confirmation and final approval.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
RSS