Cooperation between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) increased yesterday as the chairmen of the two parties unveiled the four PFP legislator-at-large candidates nominated by the two parties and vowed to work closely together to win the elections next year.
The four PFP candidates -- Cheng Chin-ling (
"To achieve victory in the legislative and presidential elections, the KMT and the PFP must unite and closely cooperate. I have asked the candidates to join the KMT for complete KMT-PFP integration during the elections," PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) said yesterday at KMT headquarters.
PHOTO: CNA
Joining Soong in announcing KMT-PFP cooperation during the legislative election, KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) said the two parties had discussed cooperation for six months, but declined to comment on any final merger of the two parties.
"We won't talk about a merger now and the KMT will not meddle in the operations of the PFP's legislative caucus during this session," Wu said.
In addition to the four legislator-at-large candidates, six legislative candidates were nominated via the KMT-PFP alliance.
Ko Shu-ming (柯淑敏), Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞), Wu Chin-chih (吳清池), Chung Shao-Ho (鍾紹和), Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) and Daniel Hwang (黃義交) will join the KMT and register under the party, Soong said.
While he encouraged KMT-PFP cooperation for the elections, Soong nevertheless criticized the KMT for "deceiving voters" with its UN referendum bid and its recent removal of the "1992 consensus" from its mission statement.
"The Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] is fooling people with its UN referendum bid. [But] the KMT's bid to return to the UN under the name `Republic of China' [ROC] is also impossible. Isn't that deceptive as well?" Soong said.
Soong also expressed his disappointment with the KMT and its presidential candidate, Ma Ying-jeou (
"The PFP maintains that the ROC is the only option. Taiwanese independence is not an option for us. The PFP will not change its beliefs or alter its course for electoral purposes," he said.
During a visit to Europe last year, Ma said independence remained an option for Taiwan and has increasingly relied on pro-localization rhetoric to attract voters.
Soong denied he was targeting Ma with his remarks, but continued to called on the KMT not to forget its history and to stick to its political beliefs.
In response to Soong's criticism, Wu said the "1992 consensus" continued to be key a cross-strait policy in the party's Charter.
"But the KMT has to continue pushing the UN referendum bid, as it reflects the nation's difficult position in the international community," Wu said.
While the two chairmen declined to discuss the KMT-PFP merger, many expect the two parties will start preparations for a final merger after the new legislative session begins in February.
Asked for comment, PFP Legislator Shen Chin-hwei (
Shen said that even without KMT and PFP support she remained determined to run in the legislative election in the second district of Taichung City.
If Shen stands, she will be up against KMT Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (
In response, Marr said she had been included in the lineup because of her efforts to push for eco-friendly technology.
Approached by reporters, PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS