Representatives of the PFP, KMT, and New Party offered glimpses into their respective strategies for the upcoming legislative elections on the first formal day of the election campaign yesterday.
PFP Chairman James Soong (
Speaking at different locations in Taichung County, Soong said that the KMT was trying to get party members to "come home to mama" -- but that many actually viewed anyone with "milk" as their "mama." Instead of "going home to mama," Soong said, these KMT members are really just going after the "milk."
He said that only the PFP possessed a loyal and unyielding spirit, and that it alone is the middle-of-the-road force preserving the continued existence of the ROC.
Meanwhile, in Taipei, Chao Shou-po (趙守博), director-general of the KMT's Organization and Development Committee, indicated that the so-called "dump-save- effect" (棄保效應) or "strategic voting," would not be engineered by KMT headquarters, but instead by city and county mayoral candidates and the voters themselves.
As for exercising "strategic voting" practices in tightly contested areas, Chao pointed out that the KMT would not abandon any of its candidates before the final stages of the election. During this last stage, the party would make a decision whether to engage in strategic voting based on opinion polls and predictions made by local party headquarters, Chao said.
Elsewhere in Taipei, New Party Convener Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) said unequivocally that his party would not engage in strategic voting.
This probably wouldn't hurt the party in the majority of voting districts, where the New Party has only nominated a single candidate. However, in areas where there is a higher concentration of New Party voters -- where multiple candidates have been nominated -- the party can suffer losses if it doesn't practice strategic voting.
Party spokesman Kao Hsin-wu (
Meanwhile, during an interview with CTV reporters yesterday -- scheduled to be broadcast tonight -- KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) became so upset that he had to take a moment to calm down, wiping tears from his eyes, before continuing the interview. The whole sequence was captured on camera.
Lien became upset while answering a question about his feelings during the year following his defeat in the presidential election. He said that he did not take the defeat very well -- not for personal reasons, but rather because he felt he had to hand the running of Taiwan over to an incapable team.
In reply to a question about his interactions with former president Lee Teng-hui (
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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