Widening the fissure between the two opposition parties, a ranking KMT official offered to resign yesterday in a gesture of protest against the party's plan to dump its own candidate in favor of an independent in the race for the Kaohsiung mayoralty.
KMT lawmaker James Chen (陳健治), who has fought with the PFP over the joint nominee for the Koahsiung mayoral race, told reporters he has offered to step down as the party's head of Organization and Development Committee.
He spent an hour meeting with KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Though saying he may yet resign, the KMT official set out for a trip to China yesterday afternoon.
In the letter, Chen asked the party to relieve him from the duty as director-general of its organizational affairs division. He also requested a leave of absence, effective immediately untill the party finds a replacement.
Chen reiterated his reservations about the party's intent to back former interior minister Chang Po-ya (
"It makes no sense for the KMT to abandon its own flag-bearer, Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英), and throw its weight behind an independent," he said. "The party should at least give Huang a chance to demonstrate his muscle."
Speculations abound that the KMT and PFP are nearing a final agreement to make Chang their joint candidate, thanks to PFP Chairman James Soong's (
PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (
The two opposition parties are expected to make known their final decision in a week's time.
"I offered to resign mainly because I don't want to be a stumbling block to KMT-PFP cooperation," Chen said.
PFP legislative whip Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) has accused him of seeking to undermine the opposition alliance after he questioned Soong's wisdom in endorsing Chang Po-ya's candidacy.
Liu called Chen's loyalty into question, saying the KMT official was close to former president Lee Teng-hui (
Brushing aside the criticism, Chen said sarcastically, "perhaps the KMT should consult the PFP before staffing its organization department."
He again urged his party to heed the will of Kaohsiung residents when approaching the matter. Many of them look down upon a carpetbagger, the KMT official said, referring to Chang, who recently moved her residency to the southern city to qualify for the elections.
Chen, however, added he would give full support to any candidate agreed on by the two parties through a judicious mechanism.
Lien, though eager to placate Chen, reportedly told him the KMT should not allow self-serving concerns to influence its decisions.
The gesture, widely seen as a tacit nod to Chang's candidacy, came under fire from another independent contender, Shih Ming-teh (
Shih, himself wooing opposition voters, warned the two parties that they risk being inconsistent if they decide to embrace Chang.
"How can they convince their supporters to vote for Chang, who their lawmakers struck down as nominee for Examination Yuan vice president?" he said. "A turnabout would lend credence to the belief that both Lien and Soong have yet to outgrow the setback at the presidential polls two years ago."
The two opposition leaders have made unseating incumbent Mayor Frank Hsieh (
Though without political affiliation, Chang has outdone all other challengers in opinion surveys.
See editorial:
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS