While Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers do not overwhelmingly support the party’s plan to replace Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as its presidential candidate, the lack of consensus is related more to the damage it would inflict to party solidarity than support for Hung.
As rumors about the KMT’s plan to change its presidential candidate begin to have more credence — with party members yesterday at a KMT Central Standing Committee (CSC) meeting proposing an extempore national congress to replace Hung — KMT lawmakers have begun to publicly express their views of Hung and a possible replacement.
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), who is also a CSC member, said he pointed out at the meeting that Hung’s level of support in polls has been much lower than expected, adding that, because she has been “appealing to deep blue voters,” it might be more likely to attract swing voters if KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was representing the party instead.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“Hung achieved what she set out to do, which was ‘toss out the brick [Hung] to attract the [participation] of jade [Chu],’” KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said. “As jade is now available, the brick should withdraw.”
While Hung’s nomination was indeed procedurally official, “the KMT is teetering on the brink of collapse. Hung should evaluate whether she has the ability to provide momentum to the party’s overall campaign,” Lo said.
“If not, she should be wise enough to step down,” Lo added.
KMT Legislator Kung Wen-chi (孔文吉) criticized the party’s plan to change presidential candidate, calling on Chu and KMT leadership to “examine their wrongs” if the party really does plan to replace Hung.
“Why did nobody [else other than Hung] stand up and join the primary in the first place?” Kung said.
Kung said that replacing Hung now would deal a severe blow to the party’s solidarity, adding that if harmony is to be achieved, the KMT should amass strong support under the banner of “KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu.”
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said that Chu and Hung should have a thorough discussion “in the presence of other top party heavyweights, such as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and former chairmen Lien Chan (連戰) and Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄).”
Wu Yu-sheng said the point now is not who will represent the party, but rather the right it might cause if Hung’s nomination is canceled without her voluntary acceptance.
“A closed-door debate should be held [for the involved parties] to hash it out,” he said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to