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KMT's deep pockets slow defections

Though Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) continues to cast a long shadow on the KMT and it may soon suffer defections to a new political group loyal to him, the party still has one key asset to rely upon -- money.

The former ruling party is, by some accounts, the wealthiest in the world. With an estimated NT$200 billion in assets, the KMT has more than enough financial resources to underwrite the campaigns of its candidates in the year-end elections.

The huge war chest is helping to keep KMT members within the party's fold -- including members loyal to former chairman Lee.

"Few KMT candidates could win a seat in the legislature without the party's help," said Chu Hsin-ming (朱新民), a professor of political science at National Chengchih University.

"That's why pro-Lee members -- though upset with the party's abandonment of Lee's legacy -- remained reticent throughout the national congress."

During the congress last week, old-guard KMT members grumbled loudly over Lee's support for the Taiwan Solidarity Union, a new group that plans to support the DPP after the December elections.

Some called for Lee's expulsion from the party.

Still, though many pro-Taiwan KMT members back Lee, few are willing to split with the party over the issue.

Chu said that though there are members capable of winning a legislative race without the KMT's support, they continue to stick with the party because they find its vast resources "propitious."

Two-term lawmaker Chen Horng-chi (陳鴻基), for example, is widely considered a pro-Lee member. But Chen has consistently voiced support for incumbent Chairman Lien Chan (連戰).

Former Kaohsiung mayor and KMT heavyweight Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) estimates that the party could take up to 85 seats in the legislature if it puts up a fight.

That would allow it to remain the largest force in the lawmaking body.

Even if the KMT puts in a "listless" campaign performance -- as many expect it will -- the number of seats should not fall below 70, Wu predicted.

The pressure is on to keep control of the legislature -- the party's last and sole source of power -- after losing the Presidential Office last year.

At the party's national congress last week, the KMT elected 16 lawmakers to its 31-member policy-making Central Standing Committee -- a sign that power was shifting to legislators within the party.

When the KMT was in power, high-ranking government officials held a majority of the seats on the committee.

"Although the party's highest decision-making organ, the committee rarely engaged in meaningful debate in the past," Chu said. "That may no longer be the case now that more reform-minded members sit on the panel."

But money won't solve all of the KMT's problems. The biggest one being Lee.

The Taiwan Solidarity Union is scheduled to hold its formal founding ceremony next week and Lee, the group's "spiritual" leader, is expected to attend.

That's likely to lead to renewed calls for his expulsion from pro-China members who see Lee as a traitor to the party.

Last week, veteran member and former diplomat Kosin Shah (夏功權) slit his wrist during a meeting of the KMT's Central Advisory Council in protest of the party's failure to punish Lee.

Having nothing to lose, Shah and others are expected to beef up their campaign against Lee.

Other KMT members say that Lee is now an "ordinary" party member and his activities are no longer the party's primary focus.

Wang Tan-ping (汪誕平), executive secretary of the KMT policy committee, said it was notable that absent from last week's national congress were the high-profile clashes that have characterized previous gatherings.

"For the first time in a decade, Lee bashing did not steal the limelight," Wang said. "The calm was a great achievement, given the vast size of the party's membership."
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