The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee on Wednesday passed a special resolution to allow people who have left or were kicked out of the party to rejoin before Feb. 17.
Applicants whose party membership has been revoked would not have to pay the previously required four years of party membership fees and could simply pay a one-time fee of NT$300, the KMT said.
Those who left the party voluntarily can apply to rejoin if it has been two years since their departure, the resolution said.
Those who had their party membership revoked for minor infractions of party rules, such as failure to pay dues, can apply to rejoin if it has been more than one-and-a-half years since they left, while those who lost their membership for more serious contraventions would only be allowed to reapply if three years have passed, it said.
People who rejoin the party through the resolution can register for party primaries and run for party committee posts six months after regaining their membership, it added.
A source in the party yesterday refuted reports that independent Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) had applied to rejoin the KMT.
Fu has not yet applied, the source said, adding that Fu was eligible to rejoin should he wish to.
The KMT revoked Fu’s membership in 2009 after he announced his intent to run for Hualien county commissioner on the KMT ticket without the party’s endorsement.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Wednesday said the resolution sought to bolster the party and solidarity within the KMT, adding that it was not intended to meet any one person’s needs.
Former KMT Central Disciplinary Committee members Wei Ping-cheng (魏平政) and Yen Ching-yuan (葉慶元) yesterday issued a joint statement opposing the resolution, saying that it bypasses the disciplinary committee.
The statement called on Chu not to open the party’s doors to former troublemakers or those who have contravened party regulations, warning that it would lead to more party members ignoring the central party’s rulings and making their own decisions in elections.
The KMT must maintain solidarity, but it should do so by uniting under a common ideology and not for personal interest, it said.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm
RSS