With the opposition camp's Kaohsiung mayoral candidate expected to be selected soon, internal differences have surfaced in the KMT over the party leadership's intention to drop its support for Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英), the party's rightfully chosen contestant, in favor of independent Chang Po-ya (張博雅).
During a seminar with KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
The trainees generally believed that the year-end Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral races are the "opening-round" of the 2004 presidential election, and that the KMT should show its fortitude and back up its own candidate in Kaohsiung.
"All the grassroots supporters of the party and the entire nation is watching to see if the KMT has the confidence to achieve a second transition of power," said Wang Yun-tung (王雲東), a trainee representative.
Wang urged Lien to actively campaign for Huang before the selection process is finalized.
In response, Lien said the opposition camp is undergoing a process of integration, because, he said, "all opposition forces should unite together in order to be competitive."
Without committing himself to campaign for Huang, Lien said it is "natural" that the KMT would support its candidate in accordance with the principle of party politics.
Though the KMT leadership has never admitted it, it is widely believed that Chang is the candidate favored by Lien and PFP Chairman James Soong (
John Kuan (關中), the new president of the National Research Institute, who is expected to become Lien's campaign strategist for the 2004 presidential bid, first expressed his support for Chang in an interview with local media last week.
Kuan yesterday explained his views, saying his stance was prompted by the 2004 race in mind.
To win the next presidential race, Kuan argued, the KMT must ally itself with independent politicians, whom he said have played a crucial role in many past elections.
As the leader of a local political faction in Chiayi City, Chang's political influence is widely considered essential for a pan-blue victory in the 2004 presidential poll.
In addition, some analysts have suggested that the KMT has opted to support an independent candidate rather than its own in the Kaohsiung race because it doesn't want to owe the PFP a favor.
If the PFP supported a KMT candidate this time, the argument goes, the KMT might need to reciprocate in 2004 by supporting a Soong presidential bid.
Unlike its leadership, many grassroots-level KMT officials and politicians, however, are against the idea of giving up the Kaohisung race for fear that the KMT-sustained grassroots networks would collapse.
Two Kaohsiung-elected KMT legislators, Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) and Lwo Shih-hsiung (羅世雄), yesterday visited the party's Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) to relay what they said were the voices of grassroots supporters in Kaohsiung.
They said that there is wide-spread dissatisfaction among local KMT supporters toward the party's equivocal stand toward Huang's candidacy, and they urged Lien to go to Kaohsiung to campaign for Huang in person.
A final candidate to run against DPP incumbent Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) is to be selected next week from among Huang, Chang Po-ya and PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (張昭雄), based on their approval ratings in opinion polls.
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