Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) resigned as one of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) vice chairmen yesterday to shoulder his share of responsibility for the party’s massive defeat in Saturday’s nine-in-one elections.
The announcement came a day after Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) also quit as a KMT vice chairman to assume partial blame for the electoral loss, which saw the party winning in only one of the nation’s five special municipalities — New Taipei City — and just five of the 16 cities and counties contested.
Amid calls for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to step down as KMT chairman, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) — another vice chairman — yesterday said the party must reflect on how it can change and what role it will play before it considers any candidates for the chairmanship, or else it would only confirm the public’s view that it is unable to change.
The results of Saturday’s polls reflected the public’s disappointment in the KMT, Chu said, adding that the party must reflect on how to change itself and adapt to a new generation.
Chu asked the public to not give up on the KMT and give it another chance to prove itself in their eyes, adding that the nation needs a healthy two-party system.
When asked whether he would take up the mantle of party chairman to enact internal reforms, Chu said that the KMT must first reconsider its role, what it wants to achieve and how the chairman post fits into its grand scheme.
“To immediately consider who should run for party chairman and who should not will only lead people to retain their negative impression of the party,” Chu said, adding that the KMT must let the public know it is capable of change and of meeting the expectations of the next generation.
When pressed for an answer, Chu said he would not run from responsibility, but stressed that the party still has a long way to go and much to learn from civic organizations around the world.
Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) said that only if someone new takes over as party chairman would the KMT have a chance to redeem itself.
“The party chairman can be anyone: Chu, [Legislative Speaker] Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) or Wu, but Ma must go,” Lo said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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