KMT says it's a true Taiwanese party

Seeking to stake their claim to the "pro-Taiwan" mantle, the KMT insisted yesterday that the party has always embodied "Taiwanism" by striving to enhance the welfare of the people over the last half century.

"Taiwanism refers to efforts to promote the common good of the country and its people. The KMT has lived up to that mandate faithfully," said former Taipei mayor Huang Ta-chou (黃大洲) during a speech before the KMT Central Standing Committee yesterday.

The address, titled "The True Meaning of Taiwanization," was apparently aimed at countering charges that the KMT has abandoned its "Taiwan first" policies put forth by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).

"The party, under the leadership of Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), embarked on the course of Taiwanization," added Huang, now a research fellow with the National Policy Foundation, a KMT think tank.

Lee, who relinquished the KMT chairmanship in March of last year, has said on several occasions that the party has veered from the center in defiance of the mainstream public will.

But Huang, a former student of Lee at National Taiwan University, said he failed to detect any difference between incumbent KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and his predecessor when it comes to the party's platform.

"Taiwanization bespeaks of a policy trend featuring openness, tolerance and inclusiveness," Huang said, dismissing any attempts to tie the policy to the issue of ethnicity by some of the party's foes.

"Shame on those politicians who seek to stoke up ethnic feuds for political gain," he said, jumping on the bandwagon of criticizing the labeling of the December elections as a local versus non-local battle.

"The Taiwanization the KMT advocates emphasizes cooperation instead of confrontation, between ethnic groups," Huang pointed out.

He said he still has great respect for Lee, who he believes was misused by those greeting him at the airport Tuesday night.

Thousands of Lee supporters, mainly from the pro-independence camp, turned out to welcome Lee on his return from the US.

"Lee has made a valuable contribution to the nation's democratic and economic reforms, to which history can attest," Huang said. "Some have sought to share his luminance by pretending to be his followers."

Huang was apparently pointing his finger at former interior minister Huang Chu-wen (黃主文), who is organizing a new political group with the intention of keeping Lee's legacy intact.

Lien expressed approval for Huang's speech and added that without the KMT, Taiwanization would be little more than an empty slogan. He did not elaborate on the statement nor make any mention of how the party would deal with suggestions to revoke Lee's membership.

KMT lawmaker Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) was more hawkish, saying Lee's "can-do" mentality could lead to a dictatorship and eventual ruin for the country, citing Adolf Hitler, the German militarist, as an example, though the comparison wasn't fully explained.

He also accused the ruling DPP of seeking to stir up ethnic disputes in the run-up to the year-end polls in a bid to distract public attention away from its administrative ineptitude.