The pan-blue parties, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP), yesterday formalized a party alliance, with the selection of one common candidate for the year-end legislative election their first priority.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his PFP counterpart James Soong (宋楚瑜), who is currently in the US, signed a pact yesterday via a videoconference link.
One part of the four-point pact that draws attention is that the two parties will jointly select the most electable candidate for year-end legislative system, in which single-member districts will be adopted, replacing the current multi-member districts.
The pact, however, didn't outline how to proceed with the selection.
"Each district has its own situation. The two parties will communicate with each other on details of the selection at a later date," Ma said.
"The alliance was established for the sake of recovering the nation's hope and solving the problems the nation is facing rather than pursuing the interests of the two parties," Soong said.
Soong retired from politics after polling only four percent of the vote in last month's Taipei mayoral election. The party, however, has yet to select a new chairman.
KMT lawmakers were divided on the prospect of the alliance.
"Chairman Ma is about to suffer a headache. The alliance would collapse if the two parties were in discord in even a district, which in turn would become a stick for the PFP to beat Ma with," KMT Legislator Shyu Jong-shyoung (徐中雄) said.
But KMT legislators Wu Yu-sheng (
The KMT's Chiang Lien-fu (江連福) said that he didn't feel good about the alliance because the PFP only cooperated with the KMT when it needed the KMT's resources.
He said that PFP lawmakers didn't side with the KMT against the president's nominee of the nation's top prosecutor and watched idly during last Friday's legislative session when KMT lawmakers clashed with Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers.
PFP lawmakers, on the other hand, said they believed Ma and Soong were sincere in forming the alliance and look forward to seeing it in operation.
"Based on the experiences of two parties' cooperation in the past, regardless of success or failure, we have consensus in the alliance," said PFP Legislator Hwang Yih-jiau (
PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) said yesterday's pact signing ceremony was just the beginning and "there is still a long way to go to nominate legislative candidates".
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday had reservations about the new alliance.
"Although we bless them for establishing the alliance, we still have doubts about the reason why the PFP had to establish it with the KMT at this time," caucus whip Chen Ching-chun (
Chen said that what the DPP cared about was whether such an alliance would benefit the public, adding that people would make up their own minds about whether the parties only considered their own interests before officially teaming up.
"Is it possible that the PFP will leave the issue of the KMT's stolen assets alone despite the public's expectation [to recover the assets] from now on? There is something odd about the hurry they were in to ally with each other," he said.
Another DPP caucus whip, Yeh Yi-chin (
Calling the establishment of the alliance "an unnecessary move," Yeh said the KMT and PFP may still be engaged in a competition rather than cooperation with each other for legislative nominations.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
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
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS