The union representing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) workers called Chairman Lien Chan's (
KMT-Union (
"How can one be fit to call oneself a man, a leader, when he cares nothing about the well-being, life or death of other people?" Liu said yesterday in an apparent reference to Lien.
Liu made the remark at the beginning of a meeting to discuss the KMT's intention to cut staff yesterday. Liu and number of party workers represented the union while the KMT leadership was represented by Legislator Wang Chung-yu (
Rumors of layoffs have been mounting ever since the party lost the March 20 presidential election, with some fearing that the party plans to cut as much as three-quarters of its staff.
KMT Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
"The party's workers are not against party reform, and are not opposed to layoffs, but we would like [Lien] to please stand up like a man, face us courageously and speak to us, and not recoil and hide like a turtle in its shell," Liu said.
"Why is it that every time the party loses an election, the party's foot soldiers have to be the ones to go, while the leadership stays?" Liu said.
Liu then said that "under Lien's leadership, the party has achieved a grand record: three lost elections."
Wang appeared irritated with the union's strong criticism of Lien.
"How can the meeting proceed any further when they [the union], at the beginning of the meeting, have already taken a stance [with regard to the party authority]?" said Wang, arguing that it was not fair to blame Lien alone for the lost election.
The meeting then continued behind closed doors.
After approximately three hours of negotiation, both parties reached a consensus that the KMT union could dispatch representatives to take part in future meetings.
While the meeting took place behind closed doors, scores of angry KMT supporters, unhappy with the union's stance against the party's leadership, attempted to interrupt the meeting several times, accusing the union of "creating trouble at a time like this, when party unity is needed."
In related news, KMT Deputy Spokeswoman Kuo Su-chun (
The move came in response to a recent call from the "567 Alliance," which urged the party to invite charity groups to use space in the facility.
The group also suggested the party change the name of the building from the National KMT Headquarters to the Taiwan Democracy Building.
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