James Chen calls it quits over speakership debacle

Despite being able to make the KMT feel proud about losing last December's Kaohsiung mayoral election, KMT Legislator James Chen (陳健治) recently resigned from his post as director of the KMT's Organization and Develop-ment Committee.

Chen tendered his resignation after blue-camp councilors voted scandal-ridden independent councilor Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) into the speakership position, just a week after KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) proclaimed his party free of "black gold."

"I offered to resign because, as the head of the party's Organization and Development Committee, I need to take responsibility for problems that damaged the image of the party," Chen said.

Despite his notorious reputation, Chu won the speakership with 25 votes. It is believed 11 of 12 KMT councilors, six out of seven PFP councilors and eight out of nine independents voted for Chu.

Prosecutors have confirmed that several Kaohsiung city councilors have turned themselves in and admitted to receiving bribes from Chu.

Chen said he is sorry to see such an outcome, adding that he failed to carry through the party headquarters' order that KMT councilors not vote for Chu.

"The job of the Organization and Development Committee is to take charge of all issues relating to the party's electoral campaign," Chen said. "I ought to take on all responsibility for any unfavorable and undesirable electoral outcome or mistakes resulting from [the committee's] campaign strategies."

KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) is filling in as director of the Organization and Development Committee.

Saying that James Chen's resignation was a natural way to demonstrate his responsibility, KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) added that he hopes a person with "a fresh face and image" can be recruited to the job.

"Aside from being in charge of the party's electoral campaign work, another job of the committee is to recruit new members to the party," Apollo Chen said. "I think it would help the party if the head of the committee had a clean image and didn't remind the public of the KMT's old unpleasant image."

While lauding James Chen's rich campaign experience, Apollo Chen said that such a background can sometimes work against the head of the Organization and Development Committee.

"Given James Chen's decades-long career as a public servant, he has come to learn a lot about under-the-table deals, which then remind the public of the KMT's old unpleasant image," Apollo Chen said.

James Chen is a legislator-at-large and was also a Taipei City councilor for 29 years, during which he served as city council speaker and vice speaker.

James Chen was well-known for his attacks on Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) when Chen Shui-bian was Taipei mayor from 1994-1998.

James Chen had also served as the director of Lien's Taipei campaign office when Lien was running in the 2000 presidential election.

In the Kaohsiung mayoral race, Chen insisted on supporting the KMT's Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英), despite the party's plan to dump Huang in favor of independent Chang Po-ya (張博雅). The party decided to stick with Huang and, despite losing to the race to the DPP's Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), felt proud of the result.

Huang, secured 47 percent of the vote, while Hsieh won 50 percent.

Chen said that it was for the sake of the KMT that he accepted the job as head of the Organization and Development Committee.