A former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokesperson yesterday suggested that KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) should be replaced following the party’s elections losses on Saturday.
Using sports terms to make an analogy, former KMT spokesman and former KMT Youth Department director Hsiao Ching-yen (蕭敬嚴) wrote on Facebook that the “team’s manager should reflect on the team’s poor performance, and the head coach should take responsibility and be fired.”
KMT chairs in the past always resigned when the party lost in general elections, with the exception of 2004 when then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was shot while campaigning for re-election, Hsiao said, adding that it was “natural” that Chu should retire now to take responsibility for Saturday’s electoral defeats.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“The presidential candidate themselves might be to blame for their own poor performance in the polls,” he said. “However, the party chairman — who chooses the legislators-at-large — should ultimately take responsibility for the party’s election losses.”
The KMT secured only 4.67 million votes this time, compared with 5.52 million votes in the 2020 presidential election, he said, adding that the problem appeared to be more with the overall party image than with the candidate themselves.
This was demonstrated by a lack of unity within the party over the past year, and problems related to the selection of a candidate, he said.
Meanwhile, responding to the election results, Chu on Saturday evening posted to Facebook saying that the 52 legislative seats that the KMT came out of the election with this year showed that the public had put trust in the KMT.
“We are on the last mile toward bringing order to the Republic of China. The KMT must continue to reform for the sake of Taiwanese,” he wrote.
Chu is likely to be retained as KMT chairman, as the party hopes to concentrate its efforts on the legislature and on the supervision of the Democratic Progressive Party, a source said.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee head Lin Kuan-yu (林寬裕) yesterday echoed this sentiment, saying that the legislative wins had “united the KMT, which would not be knocked down again.”
The KMT Central Standing Committee would listen to suggestions and continue to reform, he said.
Separately, defeated KMT presidential candidate New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) yesterday said that his failure to work hard enough had cost him the election, and that he hoped Chu would continue to lead the KMT.
“If Chu does not want to lead the party, then I am worried nobody else would be able to do it,” KMT legislator-elect Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) said, adding that she would fully support Chu staying on as the party chairman.
Former KMT legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said it was “not the time to discuss resignations.”
Additional reporting by Tung Kuan-yi, Ho Yu-hua and Ou Su-mei
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
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
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
RSS