The nomination of a suitable candidate for the Yunlin county by-election is proving a huge headache for KMT officials, with local factional interests blocking them at every turn.
Following Sunday's surprise announcement by Taipei judge Wang Pei-chih (王培智) that he would not to accept the party nomination, KMT officials have been desperately trying to secure a candidate for the Oct. 16 by-election.
According to a KMT source, the frontrunner for the position is the deputy director-general of National Police Administration (NPA) Wang Chun (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Yesterday, Johnson Chen (
He said he had spent more than two hours with Wang on Sunday to convince him to stay in the race.
"Since Wang has now declined the nomination, we're being forced to make other arrangements," Chen said.
Chen said the party was looking for a candidate that had both the support of local factional leaders in Yunlin, and could leap straight into the by-election race.
Chen admitted that the NPA deputy director-general Wang Chun was highly recommended by party heavyweights.
Legislator Hsu Shu-po (
"Whether I support Wang Chun or not mainly depends on the KMT's sincerity," he said.
A KMT source said yesterday that it appeared the factions would allow Wang to be nominated because he is not aligned with any one faction. His appointment may be an acceptable compromise, the source said.
The KMT official said that among the five legislators from Yunlin who had showed interest in the by-election race, each one had to be struck off the list because of their alliances with individual power bases.
The DPP's director of organizational department, Jimmy Kuo (
"They would rather hand the seat to their enemy than their comrades. Because they are so frightened if they fail to keep their position, their own faction will be swallowed up," Kuo said.
The KMT official agreed, saying that factions now determined many of the party's decisions, including Sunday's selection of Wang Pei-chih.
"Among the five legislators, if Hsu had won the support of at least three of them, then we would have considered nominating him. But unfortunately, things didn't turn out that way," Chen said.
For this reason, he said, the KMT had been compelled to nominate the inexperienced Wang.
Speaking yesterday on his decision to decline the post, Wang said he had neither enough time, money, or factional support to win the by-election.
According to party insiders yesterday, it appeared Wang Chun was also considering accepting the nomination.
Officials said that Wang had initially refused a nomination last week during a meeting with KMT secretary-general John Chang (
Chen said that if Wang Chun refused again, the KMT chairman for Yunlin county, Chang Cheng-hsiung, (
A final decision is expected at the KMT's Central Standing Committee tomorrow.
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