The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) core values are the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and the ideas it champions, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said yesterday.
Chiang made the remarks at a ceremony to certify the chairs of the party’s chapters in Taipei’s 12 districts.
The Constitution promotes freedom, democracy, equality and human rights, as well as a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” Chiang said.
Photo: Shen Pei-yao, Taipei Times
Acknowledging the existence of the ROC is the basis of the “one China, different interpretations” component in the “1992 consensus,” based on which Taipei and Beijing inked 23 agreements, he said.
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Some people suspect that the KMT has lost sight of its central belief, but such suspicion is unnecessary, he said, calling on KMT members to proclaim their intention to defend the ROC and the Constitution.
The KMT has encountered many challenges since the start of this year that merit change, which can only be implemented by the party headquarters shedding its power, empowering local chapters and engaging with the public, he said.
If the KMT wins the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election on Aug. 15, it would “bring itself back from the dead,” he said, calling on local chapters to aid the party in the election by calling Kaohsiung residents.
Separately, former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday brushed off comparisons to Chinese grand chancellor Cao Cao (曹操) of the Three Kingdoms period that suggest Chu wields the most influence in the KMT, as well as rumors that Chiang and former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) are forming an alliance against him.
“People must have watched too much TV during the COVID-19 pandemic and have gone overboard,” Chu told reporters. “It is not like hundreds of years ago. The nation is the ROC now.”
“Brother Johnny and I have always agreed to work together” not just within the party, but also when rallying external forces to the KMT’s cause, he said.
There is no point fighting at a time when the KMT is a weak, minority party, he said, adding that the party would be pathetic if it bowed to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) divide-and-conquer tactics.
There is not an “anti-Chu alliance,” only an “anti-DPP alliance,” Chu said, adding that the KMT’s top priority is to foster young and ambitious talent.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS