Former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday implied that he might not run in the by-election for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson.
Chu made the statement on Facebook yesterday morning, beginning the post by saying: “Making Taiwan better is the KMT’s responsibility. The party’s transformation will include me, but the by-election does not need to include me.”
The statement came after recent speculation on whether he would run for KMT chairman again, after former chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and the KMT’s top-ranking party members resigned on Jan. 15 to take responsibility for the party’s defeat in the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections.
Photo: Ho Yu-hua, Taipei Times
KMT Central Standing Committee member Lin Rong-te (林榮德) has taken over as acting chairman until a new chairperson is elected on March 7.
Chu said that the KMT must “burn its bridges” and go through a full reform to become a supporting force for Taiwan’s development.
As the party is the largest opposition party, it plays the important role of ensuring healthy competition and rational interactions in Taiwanese politics, he said.
He said he has spoken with many local government heads, lawmakers and academics, and they are all concerned about the KMT’s future.
They all believe that the party’s reform will be complex, so they must share the responsibility of doing so, he said.
The KMT’s reform must include at least five aspects: organizational restructuring; generational sustainability and building human capacity; Taiwan’s positioning and cross-strait discourse; livelihood policies; and improving its relationship with the US and other countries, Chu wrote.
He also said that he recently spoke with KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) about the party’s transformation, and that they both agreed to take on the important responsibility of reforming the party.
Hau announced his bid for KMT chairperson on Jan. 20 and Chiang did the same on Saturday last week.
A source close to Chu said that Chu would be willing to take on “responsibilities” if younger members of the party want him to run for chairperson, but if they are willing to take on the post, he would contribute to the KMT’s reformation in a different capacity.
Aside from organizational restructuring, which should be conducted by the party’s chairperson, Chu could apply his strengths to the other four reform aspects, especially in improving the KMT’s relationship with the US, other parties, as well as the younger generation, the source said.
The KMT is accepting registrations to run for chairperson on Monday and Tuesday, and plans to hold the by-election on Mar. 7.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
A court has approved Kaohsiung prosecutors’ request that two people working for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Dai-hua (林岱樺) be detained, as a probe into two cases allegedly involving her continues. The request was made on Friday, after prosecutors raided Lin’s two offices and the staffers’ residences, and questioned five on suspicion of contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例). The people included the directors of Lin’s Daliao (大寮) and Linyuan (林園) district offices in Kaohsiung, surnamed Chou (周) and Lin (林) respectively, as well as three other staffers. The prosecutors’ move came after they interrogated Lin Dai-hua on Wednesday. She appeared solemn following
RSS