Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday called for unity among members of the party ahead of its elections next month.
The KMT is scheduled to hold elections for its chairperson and delegates of its National Congress on Sept. 25 after they were postponed due to a local COVID-19 outbreak that began in May.
“Party elections should be the impetus for our cohesion,” Chiang told a weekly meeting of the KMT Central Standing Committee in Taipei, adding that oversight of the government should be the KMT’s battleground.
Photo: CNA
The elections should not become an opportunity for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to “shift the focus and divide us,” he said.
Chiang said he has witnessed the efforts and dedication of KMT officials and staff members since he took over as chairman.
He assumed the position on March 9 last year, replacing former KMT chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who stepped down after the KMT’s defeats in the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11 of that year.
“These efforts should not be underestimated and ignored, or even distorted and discredited, because of the party elections,” Chiang said.
Campaigns are temporary, he said, adding that the common goal of the KMT is to win back the trust of the public.
“Leadership is the willingness to bravely bear the burden when the party is facing its most difficult time,” Chiang said. “When the KMT is fragile, we must choose to work together and forge ahead.”
“The stronger the KMT, the more anxious and fiercer the attacks of the pan-green camp, and the more we must support each other, refuse division, stick to the right path and advance bravely,” he said.
Earlier in the meeting, Chiang said that media aligned with the pan-green camp had “released false messages that support for the KMT has collapsed and that the KMT had not performed well during the period of [COVID-19] prevention.”
Citing a poll released yesterday by the Chinese Association of Public Opinion Research, Chiang said that support for the KMT had instead surpassed that of the DPP.
Of the survey’s respondents, 21.8 percent said they aligned more closely with the DPP, compared with 23.3 percent who chose the KMT.
The survey results were based on telephone interviews of 1,088 people aged 20 or older from Tuesday last week to Sunday, the association said.
Chiang said that ensuring support for the KMT exceeded that of the DPP was “not a goal for next year,” but rather something that is in progress.
Chiang on Feb. 20 announced that he would seek re-election as KMT chairman.
His remarks came after former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) wrote on Facebook on Monday that he would join the race for KMT chairperson.
Chu told reporters on Tuesday that he aimed to ensure that public support for the KMT surpassed that of the DPP within a year.
Separately yesterday, KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) said that this year’s KMT National Congress is expected to be held on Oct. 30 in a hybrid format at the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei as well as via videoconferencing.
However, the plan could still be changed depending on the COVID-19 situation, she added.
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