Despite former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) announcing earlier this month that she intended to run for a legislative seat in Tainan, a source from within the party yesterday said that unless Hung keeps quiet about her “one China, same interpretation” stance, the likelihood of her securing the party’s nomination is “close to nil.”
Hung’s “same interpretation” stance was perceived as the reason for the KMT rescinding her nomination and replacing her with then-New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) as its presidential candidate in the 2014 presidential election.
The sixth electoral district is a key race for the KMT, whether Hung or someone else ends up being the candidate, so the bottom line is that the party must nominate the person who will best serve the long-term interests of the party, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The candidate must be willing to cultivate long-term grassroots support, meaning that they should be willing to join the next Tainan city councilor race after a loss in next year’s legislative election, the source said.
An ambitious candidate who fulfills those conditions would be picked over anyone else, the source said, adding that the party would then seek the support of Hung, who said she would respect any decision made by the party.
“If such a candidate doesn’t exist, the party would consider nominating Hung,” the source said.
Asked if KMT supporters are worried that Hung’s “same interpretation” stance would make the campaign even bleaker for the KMT, the source said that they were concerned, adding that the party’s Tainan chapter would seek to communicate with the former party chairwoman.
Chapter chairman Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) yesterday said that he has given up on the idea of communicating with Hung, as trying to convince her to keep quiet about her stance would likely not work.
As a legislative hopeful, Hung’s negatives outweigh her positives, due largely to her cross-strait stance, Hsieh said.
If Hung secures the nomination and continues to tout her stance, the election for the seat would become too unpredictable, something that is deeply concerning to the party, he said.
Hsieh said that he identified three ideal candidates for the seat, one of whom is high-profile, like Hung.
Since Hung announced her bid, some initial hopefuls have planned to withdraw, while others have said they would not give in to her without a fight, Hsieh said. “That creates a predicament for me and [KMT Chairman] Wu Den-yih (吳敦義).”
Wu at a recent meeting of the KMT’s Central Standing Committee said that no party members should propagate the “one China, same interpretation” stance.
“If anyone fails to support the party’s position, that person is not qualified to be a KMT member,” Wu said.
Hsieh said that he used to support Hung, but that her cross-strait stance is not accepted by most people over the short-term and would be “difficult to sell during an election campaign.”
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