Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday denied a report that he plans to run for mayor of Taoyuan in next year’s local elections.
In a report published on Monday, NOWnews.com cited a source based in Taoyuan as saying that Chiang and his aide KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) in April repeatedly met with Taoyuan city councilors.
Two weeks ago, Chiang told several key local figures at a meeting in Taoyuan that he was considering running for mayor, the report said, citing an anonymous source.
Asked to comment on the report in a radio interview yesterday with Huang Wei-han (黃暐瀚), Chiang said that the report was false and accused the reporter of having an ulterior motive.
“As the chairman of the party, it is normal for me to go everywhere,” Chiang said.
He had attended fewer events and meetings in Taoyuan than in other cities and counties, he said.
Asked which candidate he planned to nominate to represent the KMT in the Taoyuan mayoral election next year if he is re-elected KMT chairman, Chiang said that the party would have a nomination procedure approved by the KMT Central Standing Committee.
He declined to say who he thought would be a good candidate for the position.
Chiang was sworn in as KMT chairman on March 9 last year after defeating former KMT vice chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) in a by-election to replace former KMT chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義).
Chiang on Feb. 20 announced that he would be seeking re-election in a KMT chairperson election, which was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday last week, but was postponed due to a domestic COVID-19 outbreak.
At a weekly meeting today, which is to be held in-person after weeks of videoconferences due to a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert, the KMT Central Standing Committee is expected to discuss arrangements for the postponed election.
Earlier in yesterday’s interview, Chiang said that he would respect the committee’s decision regarding when to hold the election.
Asked which date he would prefer for the election to take place, Chiang said that it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the matter before the committee meets today and that he did not want his opinion to influence its decision.
The KMT is to elect not just a new chairperson, but also new delegates to its National Congress, he said, urging the committee to engage in careful discussion and to explain any decision.
Asked whether he thinks former KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) would challenge him for leadership of the party, Chiang said that he did not know, but “anyone can run.”
Chiang also declined to say who he thought might be his strongest opponent in his bid for re-election.
Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中), former Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics director-general Wei Po-tao (韋伯韜), former Changhua County commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) have also said they would participate in the chairperson election.
Chu, former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and National Policy Foundation vice chairman Sean Lien (連勝文) are also seen as possible contenders.
Additional reporting by CNA
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