The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should abrogate the party’s annual forum with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and donate all party assets except for those that it legally acquired, former KMT secretary-general Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) said in a party reform proposal.
Lee compiled the report after 21 forums with the KMT’s local cadres and campaign staff across the nation from Feb. 19 to March 23, following the party’s landslide defeats in the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections.
Nominated as secretary-general in January last year by then-KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), Lee submitted the report to newly sworn-in KMT Chairperson Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) before his term ended late last month.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The report listed 14 reasons presented at the forums for the KMT’s electoral failure, including the party’s controversial assets, which it said have been a constant target of and a “cash machine” for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
“The KMT’s withdrawal from media ownership has seen a majority of local news outlets and political commentators targeting and throwing negative comments at the party. Such attacks have not only severely tarnished the KMT’s image, but also caused the public to have a negative perception of the party,” the report said.
The report singled out pan-green organizations’ efforts to affect the political views of students and the influence of educational reforms on young people’s perception of national identity as potential reasons for the losses in January.
Among the 12 reform proposals in the report was the need to expound on the KMT’s central ideas in a bid to unify supporters and party members and to attract young people to the party.
The report urged the party leadership to cancel the annual KMT-CCP forum, calling it “political pageantry.”
“Instead, the party should engage in communication [with Beijing] regarding concrete cross-strait issues and establish a service center in mainland China to offer assistance to Taiwanese businessmen being mistreated there,” the report said.
The Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum was initiated in 2005 by then-KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰).
The report said that while the KMT should donate all of its illegitimate properties, it should hold on to its legal assets, because they include membership fees paid by KMT members.
The party should not dance to the beat of the DPP’s and the media’s drums, it said.
“The KMT should let a juridical organization determine the legitimacy of each of its assets... Should anyone try to slander or criticize the party over its assets, it must take legal action and demand compensation,” the report said.
It also urged the KMT leadership to use some of the assets to take care of elderly and socially disadvantaged party members, in addition to donating the party’s election subsidies to charity organizations to win public support.
Turning to the 228 Incident, the report said the massacre is a historical tragedy for which the KMT of today should not be held accountable.
“The party should explain the truth behind the incident to prevent the DPP from cashing in on the event each year,” it added.
The 228 Incident refers to an anti-government uprising that began on Feb. 27, 1947, and a series of bloody purges against civilians in subsequent months by the then-KMT regime.
The event marked the beginning of the White Terror era, which saw tens of thousands of people arrested, imprisoned and executed.
IMMIGRATION REFORM: The legislative amendments aim to protect the rights of families to reunify, and to attract skilled professionals to stay and work in Taiwan Foreigners who are highly skilled professionals, top-prize winners in professional disciplines, investment immigration applicants or have made special contributions to Taiwan can soon apply for permanent residency on behalf of their spouses and minor or disabled children after the legislature approved amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法). The amendments, which were proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Executive Yuan on Jan. 12, aim to attract foreign talent to Taiwan and encourage them to stay. They would take effect once they are signed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The amendments involved changing 63 articles, making it the biggest
FIRST STEP: Business groups in Taiwan welcomed the deal, which does not include tariff reductions at this stage, as they called for the elimination of double taxation Taiwan and the US yesterday signed an initial agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade. The agreement was signed yesterday morning by Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Managing Director Ingrid Larson in Washington, the Office of Trade Negotiations in Taipei said. The ceremony was witnessed by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) and Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi. Taiwan and the US started talks under the initiative in August last year, after Taipei was left out of the Washington-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. “The deal that will be signed tonight is not only very historic,
Beijing yesterday blamed US “provocation” for an incident last week in which a Chinese plane crossed in front of a US surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. The incident came at a time of frayed ties between Washington and Beijing over issues including Taiwan and the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US this year. “The United States’ long-term and frequent sending of ships and planes to conduct close surveillance on China seriously harms China’s national sovereignty and security,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) said when asked about the latest incident. “This
‘GLOBAL NETWORK’: The only way to deter a Chinese invasion is for the international community to unite in its resolve, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee (李淳) yesterday urged democratic nations around the world to not let Beijing dictate the definition of their “one China” policies, saying that they should increase cooperation with Taiwan to build a resilient democratic network. Lee made the remarks during his speech, titled “Ukraine and Taiwan: Why Global Unity Matters,” at the annual Bratislava Forum in Slovakia. “People in Taiwan have been paying close attention to the situation in Ukraine and admire Ukrainians for defending their homeland. They are [also] fighting for Taiwan and democratic countries around the world,” Lee told forum participants. “The international
RSS