DEEPER BLUE?New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming said the decision to axe Yang Wei-chung shows that the KMT has become intolerant to any differing opinions
Taipei Times
Date: Jun 29, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) decision yesterday to axe the party’s outspoken former
spokesman Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) has drawn ire, with some interpreting the move as the beginning of the party’s shift toward a deep-blue ideology.
At its second meeting held to deliberate Yang’s case, the KMT’s Evaluation and Discipline Committee reached a consensus yesterday morning to accept a suggestion submitted by the local branch in Chiayi County to expel Yang from the party.
The decision is set to be referred to the KMT’s Central Standing Committee for final approval today.
Due to the political sensitivity of the case, the disciplinary committee decided to convene a second meeting after spending two-and-a-half hours discussing whether Yang should be expelled over his frequent critical remarks about the KMT during its first meeting on Friday last week.
Yang was initially invited by the disciplinary committee to defend himself in person at the second meeting, but he was unable to attend due to a prearranged plan to participate in summer camps held by the Taiwanese Association in the US. He is scheduled to return to Taiwan on July 11. [FULL STORY]