The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will invite Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
According to Chang Che-shen (張哲琛), head of the party's Administration and Management Committee, Wang and Ma will each be given 30 minutes to explain their ideals and policies, after which they will take questions from the committee members.
Their reports should include their plans for leading and developing the party, as well as their policies on cross-strait relations and how they plan to handle the party's assets, Chang said.
The reports were arranged based on a proposal by KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), who reiterated on Wednesday that he has no interest in seeking re-election.
While a number of KMT politicians are pushing Lien to continue his leadership, the media have speculated that Lien's expression of "no interest" in running does not mean he definitely will not seek re-election.
A local newspaper cited unidentified KMT sources as saying yesterday that Lien is very unhappy with Ma for repeatedly saying that Lien will not seek re-election.
Lien has reportedly rebuked KMT Legislator Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) for making a similar announcement without his approval.
Commenting on the report, KMT spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) said Lien made the move because he did not want the public to think wrongly that he is siding with either Wang or Ma in the race.
Cheng said Lien has ordered party officials to be neutral and she urged people not to spread rumors.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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