The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has asked former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to serve as its vice chairman to help unify opposition supporters ahead of January’s elections, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday.
On Monday, the former KMT presidential candidate posted on Facebook a photograph of himself with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), along with a call for unity among the opposition candidates.
Asked about the social media post ahead of the KMT’s Double Ten National Day flag-raising ceremony at its headquarters in Taipei, Chu said that the party had asked Han to take up the vice chairmanship.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The KMT hopes that that Han can work with Ko, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), an independent candidate, and other “important people,” he said, adding that he was to meet with Han later yesterday.
Regardless of whether Han accepts the position, the party would respect his choice, Chu said.
Han’s office declined to comment on the position or the meeting.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the KMT’s presidential candidate, told reporters that he and Han had spoken recently.
Asked whether Han would take up the vice chairmanship, Hou said that Han would never ask for the position, but would “work together to win the public’s trust for the sake of the Republic of China’s continuation.”
Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairman Wang Sing-huan (王興煥) said that Han had “already been rejected by the voters.”
“He was not only recalled, but also dramatically lost the presidential election” in 2020, Wang said.
While the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, which seeks Taiwanese independence, would prefer that the KMT disappeared, Wang said he would also be “deeply gratified” to see radical unificationists take it over.
Asked about Han’s Facebook post at the main National Day flag-raising ceremony in fromt of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, Gou said he knows that unity is the opposition’s only formula to winning back the Presidential Office.
“A new hope will soon see the light of day,” he added.
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