Although it is still hard to say who will gain the leadership of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in Saturday's election, the political situation is likely to become more favorable to the government, with a decrease in the number of irrational confrontations in the legislature, political analysts said yesterday.
The race between Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for the KMT chairmanship is moving into its final days, and while it is the KMT's internal affair, the overall political situation will change according to who is elected.
A win by Ma might be better for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government in the short term, Hsu Yung-ming (
"If Ma defeats Wang in the election on Saturday, ... [Wang's] power in the Legislative Yuan will be threatened ... and he will have to do something to protect his turf," Hsu said.
As Ma's influence in the legislature would rise if he were KMT chairman, Wang might choose to work with Premier Frank Hsieh (
"To the DPP government, a victory by Ma would probably give it more space to talk about cooperation," Hsu said.
Conciliation
On the other hand, if Wang wins, this may extinguish any hope of the DPP reconciling with the KMT, Hsu said.
"If Wang wins the KMT chairmanship, he may want to link ... the KMT with the People First Party [PFP] to make the pan-blue camp a stable majority in the legislature and to continue to wrestle with President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) government," Hsu said.
Chin Heng-wei (
Chin noted that outgoing KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) has retained much influence throughout the chairmanship campaign.
It was obvious that Lien backs Wang, judging from Lien's recent statements and resolutions the KMT has made in the last few weeks, Chin said.
This could mean Wang would hold to Lien's political line if elected.
Chin added that Ma would have a hard time leading the KMT if he became chairman.
"Ma will face the thorny problem of the KMT's controversial party assets and resolving the divisions created by the election," Chin said.
"How to rid the KMT of the image of being a party of Mainlanders is another issue for Ma," he added.
Besides, Chin said, Ma would inevitably be targeted by Lien, PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and Wang, who all want to prevent him from growing stronger in the KMT.
"This is all because Ma will be their opponent for the 2008 presidential candidacy," he said.
Analysts also believe the new KMT leader will move away from Lien's political stance of siding with China, as this will be an obstacle on the road to the Presidential Office.
"The KMT will try every means to take back [the presidency] in 2008 and whoever wants to reach this goal can't get too close to the Beijing authorities," Hsu said.
Meanwhile, DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (
Pro-China
This could work in the DPP's favor.
"After Lien and Soong's visits to China, the atmosphere in the KMT has been filled with opposition to local Taiwanese culture and they show their pro-China stances blatantly," Cheng said.
"We believe such a phenomenon will help the DPP to win more neutral voters and some of the pan-blue supporters who don't want unification with China," he said.
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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