Eight more James Soong (
Those on the expulsion list included former Legislative Yuan Speaker Liu Sung-fan (
Former deputy director of the Government Information Office Yen Jung-chang (顏榮昌) was also on the list, as he is now a spokesman for the independent candidate.
The others are all leading strategists or supporters of Soong, who was stripped of party membership in November after insisting on running without the KMT's nomination.
"Committee members unanimously agreed to revoke their memberships," said Chien Wei-chang (
In response, Liu said the Soong camp is very likely to win the election.
Former justice minister Liao Cheng-hao (
A total of 36 people have been expelled from the KMT so far for openly supporting the popular former Taiwan governor.
Soong has taken the lead in some recent public opinion polls -- showing signs of recovering from a financial scandal which had dragged his support rating to below 30 percent and threatened to derail his campaign.
In a survey conducted by a local paper on Friday, 23 percent of the 1,359 people polled said they would vote for Soong and his running mate, cardiologist Chang Chao-hsiung (
Rivals Chen Shui-bian (
The KMT's presidential candidate, Vice President Lien Chan (連戰), and his running mate Premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) received only a 19 percent support rating.
However, 36 percent of respondents said they were still undecided, according to the poll.
The Central Election Commission has amended election and recall regulations to require elected office candidates to provide proof that they have no Chinese citizenship, a Cabinet report said. The commission on Oct. 29 last year revised the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法), the Executive Yuan said in a report it submitted to the legislature for review. The revision requires Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency to submit notarial documents showing that they have lost their Chinese household record and have renounced — or have never
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. There were no immediate reports of damage. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
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