Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) invitation to the party’s newly elected mayors and commissioners to participate in the Central Executive Committee meetings drew mixed reactions, with some saying that the party was heading in a positive direction, while others said that the move was not enough to reform it.
Wu extended the invitation at the first committee meeting after the nine-in-one elections, when it won leadership of 15 of 22 cities and counties.
“Our first step in reform is to respectfully invite 15 mayors and county commissioners, who represent the latest public opinion, to actively participate in the party’s decisionmaking mechanism, so that more of our agenda can better reflect public opinion. Only in this way can we work with the people, which would help both the nation and the party to move forward while promoting unity,” he said.
Committee member Yao Chiang-ling (姚江臨) proposed to change the party’s regulations to allow elected officials to become members of the Central Executive Committee by default.
However, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that simply adding elected officials to the committee is not enough.
They should become the core of the KMT’s decisionmaking body, as they represent the public, he said, adding that the way in which policymaking is carried out would be key.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) from Nantou County, who campaigned for Kaohsiung mayor-elect Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), said that Han favors the proposal, although he thinks that it would be impossible for mayors or county commissioners to attend each weekly committee meetings, given their schedules.
She said that Wu could meet with elected officials once a month, which would be more practical.
Kinmen County commissioner-elect Andy Yang (楊鎮浯) said that the party’s mayors, county commissioners and legislators from the party should together be in the majority on the committee, adding that this would be a major step forward in the party’s transformation and helpful in its governance of the nation.
New Taipei City mayor-elect Hou You-yi (侯友宜) had said in a media interview that issues concerning New Taipei City residents would be his top priority, and everything else is secondary.
In addition to including elected officials in its central executive committee, Wu credited the party’s success to the public’s expectation for an honest and efficient government, and just and prosperous society.
The KMT nominated excellent candidates that met people’s expectations, he said, adding that no KMT candidate in the election resorted to dirty tricks at the last minute to win their race.
Wu also reiterated the party’s support for its Taipei mayoral candidate, Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), who has requested a recount of ballots after losing to Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) by just 3,254 votes.
“In Taipei, there were still people voting after the polling stations were supposed to be closed at 4pm. As the polling stations that had finished by 4pm started counting the votes, voters who cast their votes after 4pm were very likely to see the early results at other polling stations online. This was a major flaw in the election,” Wu said.
Ting has followed the law in seeking a recount, adding that the party respects and supports his legal pursuit of upholding fairness of the election, he said.
‘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 High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and