The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday dismissed speculation about a quid pro quo deal with China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) Chairman Chang An-le (張安樂), alias the White Wolf.
Chang, a former leader of the Bamboo Union gang who spent many years in China while being on Taiwan’s most-wanted list for alleged violations of the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪條例), on Wednesday led a large group of supporters to campaign for the KMT’s candidate in the Hualien mayoral by-election.
“KMT Hualien mayoral candidate Wei Chia-hsien’s (魏嘉賢) campaign headquarters did not arrange for Chang’s visit. Chang came of his own volition to show his support for Wei’s down-to-earth and honest campaigning style,” KMT Culture and Communications Committee director Chow Chi-wai (周志偉) said.
Urging the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to refrain from malicious campaign strategies, Chow said the DPP’s continued use of mudslinging would only backfire, further hurting President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) approval ratings.
Chow’s remarks came just hours after DPP spokeswoman Chiu Li-li (邱莉莉), at a Taipei news conference, said KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) should explain to the public what kind of a deal was reached with Chang.
Pointing to a photograph of Chang, Wei, Wei’s father, as well as a number of KMT Central Standing Committee members, Chiu said Chang and his group were making Hualien residents jittery.
“Is this what Hung meant by nominating a competent candidate with a good public image to win the hearts of voters? She has apparently slapped her own face,” Chiu said.
As Chang and Wei’s father are old acquaintances, Wei should say what kind of agreements have been made between the pair to assuage voters’ concerns, Chiu said.
The by-election, scheduled for Saturday next week, is to select a successor to the DPP’s Tien Chih-hsuan (田智宣), who died of lung cancer in May aged 56.
Tien’s widow, Chang Mei-hui (張美慧), is running as the DPP’s candidate and three former KMT members are running as independents after being expelled by the KMT because they insisted on running in the by-election.
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