Sat, Nov 25, 2000 page3

• KMT looks to the future on 106th anniversary

  RENEWAL The party is regrouping after being defeated in the March presidential election, with leader Lien Chan saying that political and structural reform constitute the party's mission for the coming century

  • By Joyce Huang / STAFF REPORTER
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  The KMT held a 106th anniversary celebration yesterday, but the party's first major reunion after the presidential defeat in March was a low-key affair.

  Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), accompanied by Vice Chairmen Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Chiang Chung-ling (蔣仲苓) and Vice Chairwoman Helen Lin (林澄枝), hosted the ceremony and welcomed more than 200 party officials to the party's central headquarters in Taipei.

  "Up until now, 540,000 people have re-registered as KMT members and 40,000 of them are young members who have identified themselves with the party's future and hope," Lien said, adding that political reform and internal structural transformation were the party's mission for the century.

  

  KMT Chairman Lien Chan, second left, and party officials celebrate the party's 106th anniversary in front of former party chairman Chiang Kai-shek's picture at the KMT's headquarters yesterday evening.

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  In order to clarify the full extent of its membership, the KMT has asked all its claimed 2,500,000 members to re-register as party faithful between September and January. With less than two months left, however, recruitment seems to be going slowly.

  "To be realistic, our goal is within one million. However, we will be honest with the figure, without empty boasting about membership this time," Director-general of the party's organizational development committee (組織發展委員會) Chao Shou-po (趙守博) told the Taipei Times yesterday, adding that the party would reserve the membership of some government officials who now work for the DPP government and, therefore, are hesitating to re-register.

  Still, former Premier Tang Fei (唐飛) and some top party leaders including Huang Hui-chen (黃輝珍), who is seen as a member of former President Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) faction, have shown less interest in re-registering of their own volition.

  Chao, nevertheless, added that the party has developed several incentives for membership recruitment, which include lowering the age limit for membership from 20 to 15 to allow more youngsters into the party. Members aged below 20 are not allowed to run for public office, but they can participate in the party affairs, including running for the party chairmanship.

  The KMT would also compensate its members with health and accident insurance coverage using half of their annual fee, demonstrating the party's ability to benefit members in return for their support and to care for members and their health, Chao said.

  At yesterday's celebration, Lien said that the transfer of power to DPP President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had resulted in constitutional chaos, political turmoil and cross-strait deadlock.

  "The new government cannot ignore, destroy or downplay the Constitution. Nor can it solve the cross-strait impasse with its new [consensus], since there has already been a [cross-strait] consensus," Lien added, urging the government to renounce its "political interference" with the economic market.

  Lien, moreover, stressed "the importance of financial expertise instead of political ideology" when dealing with the workweek legislation in the legislature, asking "Chen to give up his thoughtless campaign promise -- 40 working hours per week starting from 2002."

  Former KMT Chairman Lee Teng-hui did not attend yesterday's ceremony, citing health problems after his recent cardiac operation.

  Lacking the political charisma of Lee, Lien -- unlike his predecessor -- has had to stand up after defeat in the presidential election and demonstrate his leadership qualities by regrouping the KMT with its former affiliates -- the New Party and the People First Party -- into an opposition alliance and, endorsed by the alliance, taking the initiative in pushing forward the recall vote against the president, thus ushering in the KMT's so-called "post-Lee Teng-hui era (後李登輝時代)."

  Founded in 1894 by Sun Yet-sen (孫中山), the KMT's central goal at its infancy was to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, which eventually collapsed in 1911. The Communist Party later defeated the KMT in a civil war which led to the party's ignominious flight to Taiwan in 1949.

  During the KMT's five decades of government, Taiwan went through three major political phases -- the rule of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石, 1949-1978), that of his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國, 1978-1988) and that of Lee Teng-hui (李登輝, 1988-2000).

  Both Chiangs used martial law to limit political dissent, respectively running so-called "hard authoritarian" and "soft authoritarian" regimes.

  Chiang Ching-kuo, however, gradually allowed democratic reforms in his later years. He carried out a policy known as "Chui Tai Ching (吹台青)" in the mid 1980s -- recruiting younger local Taiwanese politicians to participate in the KMT and local government, which were dominated by old-guard KMT exiles from China.

  Chiang lifted martial law in 1987 -- one year before his successor Lee took power.

  The Taiwan-born Lee effectively terminated the so-called "foreign rule (外來政權)" of the KMT.

  During his 12-year rule, Lee was more tolerant of the opposition movement, winning himself the soubriquet of "Mr. Democracy," competing with the major opposition party, the DPP, founded in 1986.

  In order to counteract old-guard mainland-centric forces within the party, Lee secured power through years of political infighting mainly by allying with grassroots leaders.

  While this helped the KMT's localization, it came at the price of turning a blind eye to local corruption and the "black gold" politics associated with local political machines.

  Lee's attempts to cast the KMT as a Taiwanese party led in the 1990s to two schisms with dissident mainlander factions. The New Party was founded in 1993 by a group of the KMT's "young turks" or "anti-Lee faction (反李勢力)" including Wang Chien-shien (王建'火宣') and Jaw Shau-kong (趙少康), due to ideological differences.

  After James Soong (宋楚瑜), once a heavyweight KMT member, ran as an independent candidate and came second in the March presidential election -- costing the KMT the presidency -- he founded the PFP, taking some KMT members with him.

  Despite political difficulties, the KMT still controls the legislature, with 115 seats, and is said to be one of the world's richest political parties, with admitted assets of US$3.7 billion but estimated unofficially to be in the tens of billions.

  "For the sake of unity, the KMT will never go through any political infighting. I therefore urge our comrades to reunite and make a brave start, " Lien said at yesterday's anniversary.

  "We will put all our efforts into becoming the biggest and most professional opposition party in Taiwan. The KMT is determined to oversee the new government's policies for the benefit of all Taiwan's people," KMT legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) once told the Taipei Times, adding that its goal was to regain political power in four years.

  The KMT led by Lien has vowed to lead the country's development in economic and financial issues, cross-strait negotiations, foreign affairs and domestic reforms.

  But the doubts currently facing the party are not new. Whether the party could eliminate corruption from its ranks and simplify its bureaucratic organization were issues even before the "good old days" of the party's 50 year rule.
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