“She previously sought to become a legislator-at-large candidate for the People First Party [PFP] and told [PFP Chairman] James Soong (宋楚瑜) that she completely agreed with his ideals,” Chiu said.
“She later went to [former president] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to join the TSU and said she completely agreed with Lee’s ideals, but Soong’s and Lee’s ideals were totally opposed,” he said.
KMT Legislator Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進), who is close to Chiang, also criticized Lai yesterday.
“The MAC head is in charge of cross-strait negotiations. What if she becomes pro-China one day? Such a constantly changing character is the most horrible thing,” Lee Chia-chin said.
Although Chiu and Lee Chia-chin remained critical of Lai, some KMT legislators softened their attitude toward her nomination.
Acting KMT caucus secretary-general Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said Lai’s acceptance of the so-called “1992 consensus” on Wednesday night showed that her standpoint on cross-strait relations had become identical to the president-elect’s.
“Since Mr Ma has appointed her as future MAC head, the [KMT] caucus will fully support her,” Hsieh said.
The deputy secretary-general of the KMT caucus, Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), said Lai’s remarks showed that she had rid herself of the influence of Lee Teng-hui, adding that she had become a different person.
When asked for comment, KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) urged the public to give Lai some time to achieve something in the MAC to show that she truly agreed with and could execute Ma and vice-president elect Vincent Siew’s (蕭萬長) policies.
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