Differences in values forestall any immediate “integration” with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in the race for Hsinchu City’s legislative seat, New Power Party (NPP) candidate Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said yesterday.
“We have to pursue our values, and those values are not ‘swappable,’” Chiu said.
“Currently, there are value differences [with Ker], which we take seriously, making integration extremely difficult,” Chiu said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
He called for Ker to agree to a public debate, holding out the possibility of “integration” if there was an “adequate foundation” after gauging public opinion.
Chiu’s statement comes as he faces increasing pressure to withdraw from the race amid reports that Ker’s campaign is struggling, with DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) saying on Wednesday at a meeting of the party’s Central Governing Committee that more should be done to help his campaign.
Ker, who represented the district for several terms before being elected as an at-large legislator, has returned to campaign for his former seat because of DPP rules, which forbid members from serving as at-large legislators for more than two terms.
Chiu said that his main difference with Ker centered around the necessity of promoting a “transparent and professional” Legislative Yuan, as he criticized Ker’s use of “cross-caucus negotiations” to facilitate passage of controversial bills during his tenure as DPP caucus whip.
“This system [of negotiations] is riddled with problems, including closed talks, hollowing out [legislative] committees and concreting power in the hands only a few people,” Chiu added.
“After bills are sent into cross-caucus negotiations, they can be completely altered, so if you’re a [regular legislative] committee member, you won’t take the review of bills seriously because it’s meaningless,” he said.
NPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said the party would “support Chiu until the end,” adding that whether the party and DPP would coordinate on electoral districts would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
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