All Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates running for local government positions in the Nov. 24 election are to gather in Taipei today to officially launch their campaigns.
The local election results are seen as a significant indicator for success in the presidential elections, and the KMT is sparing no effort to return to power in 2020, the party said.
The KMT has downsized its campaign events and is encouraging candidates to leave party chapters and directly engage constituents, as the party faces financial difficulties, party sources added.
The Executive Yuan’s Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee in 2016 froze the assets of Central Investment Co and Hsinyutai Corp, worth NT$15.4 billion and NT$200 million (US$503 million and US$6.55 million) respectively, after the two companies were designated as affiliated with the KMT.
The KMT is contesting the committee’s administrative order in an ongoing lawsuit.
KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) absence from the limelight over the past few weeks was said to be so he could concentrate on behind-the-scenes management, including a combined effort by Wu and former Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) to organize a rally for KMT Taichung mayoral candidate Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) on Monday last week.
Party headquarters and local KMT chapters would act in concert, with chapters holding regular meetings to stay on top of electoral affairs and the headquarters thinking up ways to support the chapters, the party said.
KMT Vice Chairman Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) has been tasked with managing events nationwide, the party said, adding that it aims to mobilize at least 200 supporters for each event to help bolster party morale.
Tseng has overseen more than 10 support rallies and has devoted himself to increasing party solidarity and unifying members behind common goals, party sources said.
At an event on Aug. 19 — when the KMT National Congress is scheduled to meet — Wu is to confer flags on all candidates to boost their morale.
The party’s propaganda and information apartments are also working at full speed and a campaign Web site with all the candidates’ programs is to be launched in the coming week, sources said, adding that it would emphasize unpopular local and national policies.
Meanwhile, the KMT said its Central Standing Committee’s road show is to begin with a meeting in Taichung on July 25.
The party’s grand strategy is to consolidate its presence in Taipei and New Taipei City, it said, adding that it would also heavily focus on central Taiwan.
‘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