The soap opera put on by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — the proposed removal of its presidential candidate, Legislative Deputy Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) — has reached a cliffhanger.
It is no accident that KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) led the party to attack. Outsiders can only speculate on the political calculation behind his move. Looking at the “episode” that focused on discarding Hung, people can see Chu’s boldness.
However, it was forced on him and was not a display of political acumen. How Chu might be remembered is for history to decide, but his sense of commitment has substantive significance today.
Chu’s move put the election campaign back on track. When Hung was chosen to represent the KMT, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) breathed a sigh of relief. DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was relaxed and at ease, and the DPP was rooting for Hung. During that time, Tsai touched upon the DPP’s proposed policies lightly, as there was no real competition.
Now, however, the DPP is stepping up its efforts: Not only has it begun to attack Chu, it has also started to move for a recall. It is now apparent that the DPP is drawing up battle lines. This way, the presidential election will return to formal campaigning, which is a positive development for Taiwan’s future, thanks to Chu’s intervention.
Chu’s political maneuvering has also released some of the pressure off the KMT. So far in the election campaign, the public has seen the toll the pressure took on the KMT, and it was not even about whether the party would win or lose, but whether it would split after the election. Senior KMT members would not even think of running for president and only Hung was willing to jump into the fire, when no one else was willing to take responsibility.
Now, because there is no escape for him, Chu has assumed responsibility. This might not bring the party victory in the legislative elections, but in the end Chu is bound to be held accountable. This means that there is less pressure on the KMT. This is the greatest contribution that Chu can offer the party.
Chu’s move to remove Hung has also reduced the waste of social resources. Over the past few months, the media has spent too much time discussing whether Hung would be removed from the presidential ticket in favor of another candidate. She was never willing to admit anything, but there were constant rumors circulating behind closed doors. With so much uncertainty, people were constantly discussing the rumors surrounding Hung and the whole atmosphere was quite unsettled.
Now that Chu has decided to come out and lead, the whole discussion will have a direction and social resources will not be wasted. This, too, is thanks to Chu.
Basically, Chu was forced to step up and intervene. No doubt the intrigue going on behind the scenes was more Machiavellian than people could guess. Taiwanese are concerned about domestic politics and, since Chu is entering the fray, the election campaign can become competitive again, and people’s expectations can increase.
As to what might become of Chu after the election, whether or not he stands, that is of no concern to Taiwanese. After all, Chu has used whatever little political capital he had left at this critical moment, so the public should thank him.
Li Kuan-long is a lecturer at the Kaohsiung campus of Shih Chien University.
Translated by Clare Lear
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