While the electoral prospects of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) look dim, what is probably more distracting for some KMT heavyweights is a looming rift and power struggle within the party.
A rumor that should have died down with the approach of the election in January has resurfaced: that KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) is to be replaced. More than two months after her official nomination at the party’s national congress, Hung seems to have failed to consolidate her position as the party’s representative.
Apparently, Hung being a B-list politician is not the cause of uncertainty among her fellow legislative candidates, as party solidarity and the effort to build up such camaraderie would not be thwarted by the lack of charisma of an official presidential candidate.
So what is alienating the party candidates from Hung then? Her conspicuous political beliefs that are miles away from the political mainstream are definitely a factor, but for KMT politicians, it is only when an ideology puts their standing at risk that they begin to choose sides.
Hung has been championing the idea that the KMT should once again find its core spirit and lead the Republic of China (ROC) with it. The so-called “KMT spirit” is prioritizing the ROC over Taiwan, which is harmless when you say it without meaning it.
However, for Hung it is more than just words; she wishes to alter the cross-strait “status quo,” which she considers “unstable.”
And Hung is determined, as she has stressed over and over again, to stay in the electoral ring as a presidential candidate, even while her party is beset with signs of rifts due to her resolve.
“I want to make changes to the party I belong to,” Hung said with tears in her eyes on Saturday.
What is it that she is so desperate to change?
Various local media have reported that Hung’s campaign team is a clique with a strong pro-unification stance and has an abrasive relationship with KMT headquarters.
One of the central figures of the group told a Chinese media outlet earlier this year that “deep blue” supporters are afraid that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) would follow in the footsteps of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), and “there has to be another group in the party launching a struggle over the [party’s] direction.”
In other words, Hung might now be aiming for the party’s leadership more than the presidency, a goal that is certainly more within her reach.
The speculation might be supported by a recent move by the so-called KMT local factions in central and southern Taiwan (as opposed to the party’s Mainlander faction), of which Wang is clearly a powerful member.
It has been reported that the local heavyweights have been threatening party headquarters with replacing Hung as presidential candidate with their initiative to establish a “Taiwan Nationalist Party Alliance.”
Among them is former Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味), father of KMT Legislator Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡), who announced his daughter’s withdrawal from the election last month.
The junior Chang has said that KMT headquarters should “solve the problem” that has been preventing her father from approving her candidacy for re-election.
Wang weighed in, saying that there has to be an “inflection point” for the Changs to change their mind.
However, there is no room (and no need) for Hung to step back, especially if her goal is to foil the growth of the local factions within the party, which could lead the KMT away from its “core values.” She has little to lose, too, except a KMT founded on expedient coalitions, and she is obviously willing to trade a big KMT for a smaller one with stronger faith.
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