Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday became the fourth entry to the party’s chairperson by-election.
The KMT had made a bad decision and wasted the public’s trust, which led the party from victory to defeat in the space of just a year, Chiang told a Lunar New Year tea party at his Taichung office.
If the KMT again allows calls for reforms to be just slogans, it could suffer more defeat and become history, he said.
Photo: Su Chin-feng, Taipei Times
He and the KMT have a responsibility to the nation, Chiang said, adding that the party must work fast to regain the public’s trust and continue to supervise the government, thereby bringing about a better Republic of China (ROC).
If elected, he would push reforms based on the KMT’s core values: democracy, justice and innovation, the lawmaker said.
He would ensure that older KMT members pass the torch, and he would include the planned KMT reform committee — which is to be made up of the party’s 15 mayors and county commissioners — as well as members of the KMT caucus to the party’s management, which should be a coordinator and a guide for the caucus as well as the local governments run by the KMT, not just be a commander, he said.
Chiang promised to focus on consolidating the party’s support in the central and southern parts of the nation, where campaigning has been the most difficult, adding that it would demonstrate the party’s sincerity and resolve to voters.
He would take the KMT to the streets to meet grassroot members to learn about the issues they care about, Chiang said, adding that only through this can the party forge a bond with the masses.
Asked whether the KMT’s cross-strait stance had been factor in its election defeat, Chiang said it had been one of the causes and the party needs to be open to all kinds of opinions on the issue.
“To the KMT, any discussion on its cross-strait stance must be based on acknowledgement of the fact that the ROC exists. No matter what stance the other side of the Strait takes, it must direct its attention back to the fact that the ROC exists,” he said.
KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲), KMT Central Committee member Sean Lien (連勝文) and former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) attended the party.
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