Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) office yesterday said that he is considering a defamation lawsuit against former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), who claimed that he was removed from the party’s list of legislator-at-large nominees because of Ma.
In an interview with Hong-Kong based China Review News Agency published yesterday, Chiu said that he had initially been included in the list due to recommendations by former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), former KMT legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), Deputy Kaohsiung Mayor Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) and retired army general Hsu Li-nung (許歷農).
However, in a meeting of the KMT’s seven-person review committee, KMT Vice Chairman Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), who led the panel, removed Chiu from the list to make room for former Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) and Taiwan Institute of Zhongyuan Development secretary-general Che Yi-ching (車宜靜), Chiu said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Chiu quoted Tseng as saying that Ma had recommended Chen and Che.
He was later reintroduced to the list after he and several party members objected to his removal, he said.
However, he decided to withdraw from contention due to continuous criticism by the Democratic Progressive Party over his pro-China stance, Chiu said, adding: “I do not want to see [KMT Chairman] Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) under fire because of me.”
Chiu’s inclusion in the list was controversial due to his remarks earlier this year that peaceful cross-strait unification would be possible once leading pro-Taiwanese independence advocates are “decapitated,” citing former presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), former premier William Lai (賴清德) and Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊).
Ma’s office said in a statement that he had not recommended any nominees, because KMT regulations forbid former chairpersons from doing so.
Tseng has also denied saying at the meeting that Chen and Che were recommended by Ma, it said.
Chiu — who has now been included in the New Party’s list of legislator-at-large nominees — is intentionally trying to cause divisions within the KMT, Ma’s office said.
Ma would consider a lawsuit if Chiu continues to make false claims about him, it said.
The KMT said in a statement that Tseng did not remove Chiu from the list and that Che was not recommended by Ma.
KMT legislator-at-large nominees were selected in a careful, fair and transparent manner, it added.
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
RSS