Many former party members who dislike Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) have returned to the fold, a high-ranking KMT official said yesterday.
The party members -- many of whom harbor strong pro-China feelings and despise the KMT's former chairman -- failed to renew their membership earlier this year.
But since Lee was ousted from the party last month, many have returned, with the party welcoming them back with open arms.
According to Chao Shou-po (趙守博), director-general of the party's Organization and Development Committee, the homecoming will mean additional support as the KMT prepares for the Dec. 1 legislative and local elections.
"The way we handled [Lee's ouster] is more to the KMT's advantage than its disadvantage," Chao said. "The majority of votes that we lost in the last presidential elections because of him have returned."
Chao said that after Lee was kicked out of the party, former members began to contact their local divisions about rejoining the KMT.
The trend has been especially noticeable in the party's Huang Fuhsing division, which consists mainly of military servicemen and veterans -- most of whom are mainland Chinese and still have strong feelings for China.
While the pro-unification New Party enjoyed considerable support from this group in the past, many switched their support to James Soong (宋楚瑜) during last year's presidential race.
The People First Party, which Soong founded after losing the presidential race, continued to enjoy the support of the servicemen and retired soldiers.
But Lee's ouster has changed that, and now this group of anti-Lee voters is returning to the KMT.
According to statistics from the Huang Fuhsing division, more than 3,000 former members have indicated they plan to rejoin the KMT. The division's membership is expected to grow to 200,000 by December, up from 163,000 today.
In addition, Chao said, the impact of Lee's ouster on the KMT's election prospects is expected to be minimal.
Despite Lee's strong support for the rival Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) and attacks on the KMT, the TSU will likely win just three to four legislative seats, Chao forecasted.
The TSU is likely to be more detrimental to the DPP than the KMT, he said.
"Voters with a pro-DPP political affiliation tend to identify with [Lee's] remarks. We think Lee's remarks and his move to campaign for the TSU will have a greater impact on the DPP," Chao said.
The KMT official also said that Lee's open support for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the DPP is a clear indication that the two are allied. KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) has described Lee and Chen as "fellow travelers."
"We are trying to let the voters understand that Lee has behaved in this manner because they [Lee and the DPP] are a gang," Chao said.
But while the KMT has been able to consolidate support among the anti-Lee voters, that support has come at the expense of the PFP. And the party hasn't let the trend go unnoticed.
At a Kaohsiung campaign rally yesterday, PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (
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