In the latest and perhaps most drastic attempt to boost support for his party with less than 48 hours remaining before the local elections, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he will resign as chairman if the KMT fails to get at least 11 candidates elected.
"If the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wins a majority in the elections, it means that the KMT is not good enough. I will resign as party chairman if the KMT fails to secure at least half of all seats in the elections," he said.
Eight cities and counties are currently under KMT control. As the party did not nominate any candidates in Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, by referring to "half of the seats," Ma apparently meant winning the election in at least 11 cities and counties.
Ma, who doubles as Taipei mayor, made the announcement yesterday at a press conference titled "Vote for yourself, be responsible for history" at the campaign headquarters of the KMT's Taipei County commissioner candidate, Chou Hsi-wei (
While the elections are being held to appoint new county commissioners and mayors, Ma urged voters to view the poll as a chance to cast a vote of no confidence in the DPP government.
"The DPP achieved nothing during its five years as the ruling party, and can only boost its support with smear campaigns and bribery," Ma said.
Liao Feng-teh (廖風德), head of the KMT's organization and development committee, said yesterday that the party's final strategy was to spur on "all pan-blue voters" to support the camp's candidates with "shocking" measures, especially in areas like Taipei, Ilan, Nantou, Changhua, Yunlin and Pingtung counties and Chiayi City.
Meanwhile, stepping up pressure on the DPP's candidate for Taipei County, Luo Wen-chia (羅文嘉), Chou's team yesterday played a video which allegedly proves that Luo paid people to participate in a DPP campaign rally on Sunday.
The video showed someone giving away money on a bus.
"After double-checking the bus company's service list, we are sure that the bus took passengers from Luchou County to the DPP's rally last Sunday," People First Party Legislator Lee Yung-ping (
KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) said the Chou team has reported the matter to the Banciao District Prosecutors' Office, and urged the prosecutors to complete their investigation as soon as possible.
The video was the pan-blue camp's latest piece of "evidence" allegedly proving that Luo's team had been involved in large-scale vote-buying at the DPP rally last Sunday. They claim that Luo's team paid each rally participant NT$150.
As of press time, the Banciao District Prosecutors' Office had subpoenaed 17 members of Luo's campaign team but had not yet searched his campaign office.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
ESWATINI VISIT: Taipei condemned Beijing’s coercive tactics after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar unexpectedly revoked overflight permits for the president’s aircraft President William Lai (賴清德) has postponed an official trip to Eswatini, after several countries in Africa revoked overflight permits following “intense pressure” from China, a senior aide said yesterday. Lai was due to visit the Kingdom of Eswatini from today to Sunday for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday. Eswatini is among Taiwan’s 12 remaining diplomatic allies and the only one in Africa. “According to sources, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar unexpectedly and without prior notice revoked the charter’s overflight permits,” Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) told a news conference. “The real reason is that the Chinese
RSS