The 106-year-old KMT yesterday held the first direct election for chairman in its history -- an event marred by the failure to vote of former president and chairman Lee Teng-hui (
Lien Chan (
PHOTO: HSIEH WU-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"The first direct and open election for chairman is a milestone in [the party's] political modernization, signifying that the KMT has successfully entered a whole new era," Lien said just before casting his vote in the election yesterday morning.
PHOTO: AFP
Lien garnered 97.09 percent of the votes cast, winning 521,712 votes in total. The turnout rate for the election was 57.9 percent, with 537,370 out of the total 928,175 eligible party members voting.
During a speech after the party headquarters had announced the result of the election, Lien stressed that he will henceforward be responsible for the completion of the party's reform.
"Now is not the right time to celebrate our new [democratic] achievement, because we still have plenty to do and many reform efforts to make," Lien said.
Direct elections for the party chairman is part of a package of reforms adopted by the KMT following the party's humiliating defeat in last year's presidential election, when Lien -- the KMT candidate -- was forced into third place.
The KMT's next goal is to have all party leaders formally and publicly authorize the placement of party assets into trusts, which is scheduled to happen tomorrow.
The KMT's Organizational Development Committee director-general, Chao Shou-po (
A sour note was sounded, however, by the failure of former KMT head Lee Teng-hui to show up to cast his vote.
Lee instead spent yesterday afternoon playing golf with business leaders and a group of Japanese friends.
This was much to the consternation of reporters who had camped outside the KMT branch office at his hometown of Tashi in Taoyuan County since the opening of the polls yesterday morning.
But Lee disappointed the journalists, who were still waiting there when the polls closed at 3pm.
Some more enterprising reporters, however, gathering outside the golf club to ask Lee whether he had cast his vote. While sitting on a golf buggy heading toward the next hole, Lee said "I have no time."
In an effort to explain Lee's attitude, Lien told reporters after making his victory speech that Lee had already decided to stay clear of political affairs. Lien simply said: "give him [Lee] a break."
Many of the party's senior leaders and veteran members, including those who once strongly opposed Lee's leadership style -- such as former KMT secretary-general and premier Lee Huan (李煥), former legislative speaker Liang Su-jung (梁肅戎) and former premier Sun Yun-suan (孫運璿) -- all participated in yesterday's election to express their support for Lien.
In yesterday's election party members also elected delegates who will attend the party's 16th National Congress, which is scheduled to be held in August. The congress will be the first party convention held since the KMT lost power last March.
Also see story inside
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘NOT SUBORDINATE’: Only Taiwanese can decide the nation’s future, and people preserving their democratic way of life is not a provocation, President William Lai said Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control. The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor. China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media
RSS