The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is to forgo a presidential primary in favor of nominating a candidate by special committee to avoid internal strife, the party said yesterday.
The announcement came after the KMT Central Standing Committee held a session to establish the makeup of the Central Nomination Committee at its headquarters in Taipei, amid calls for unity by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫).
Party leadership must facilitate efforts to unite its forces and find a candidate with broad appeal outside the pan-green camp to win the presidential election next year, Chu told a news conference after the meeting.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The nomination process for KMT legislative candidates would be conducted in three phases on April 22, May 20 and June 18, he said.
The KMT has communicated with former members of the US national security apparatus and Japanese representatives, and has emphasized its desire to remain friendly with the US, Japan and China, he said.
The party underscored its “2D strategy” to enhance national defense and cross-strait dialogue that would protect peace and democracy, Chu said, adding that foreign friends were impressed by the KMT’s platform.
KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia’s (夏立言) two visits to China generated tangible results to help resolve a dispute over Taiwanese agricultural exports and former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is to visit the ancestral tombs of his family in China next week, he said.
The KMT’s endeavor to achieve peace across the Taiwan Strait would be the foundation of its victory in the general election, he said.
Asked about New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi’s (侯友宜) potential candidacy, KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said that Hou knows his duty to the party well and will not shrink from it.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party Central Standing Committee waived polling requirements for Vice President William Lai (賴清德) as the sole contender in the party’s presidential nomination, clearing a procedural hurdle for the presumptive candidate.
An announcement of Lai’s nomination is expected on April 12, while competitive polling for those seeking to become legislative nominees would be held two days after that, the party said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS