The KMT's Evaluation and Discipline Committee yesterday resolved to recommend that the party's Central Standing Committee expel seven party members in connection with the election of Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄).
Three of them earned the recommendation by defying party policy by taking bribes, the other four for doing so by voting for Chu.
All seven had in fact taken the initiative on Monday night to request that their memberships be withdrawn.
The seven are Chen Yun-lung (
According to the director-general of the committee Chen Kang-chin (
The committee, however, decided also to consider expulsion of the other four -- who had admitted to voting for Chu, but not to receiving bribes -- after receiving the requests from all seven on Monday night.
"The mere fact that they [Chen, Yang and Wu] have requested to have their party membership withdrawn doesn't mean that the party will not take any disciplinary action against them for defying the party's policy in the first place," Chen Kang-chin said at a press conference held following the committee's meeting.
The KMT's policy stipulates that members who take bribes be expelled.
He said that the committee had resolved unanimously to have Chen, Yang and Wu expelled for accepting bribes.
Chen, Yang and Wu had turned themselves into prosecutors last weekend and said that they would testify against other suspects in the vote-buying case.
"The party headquarters' position is crystal clear: anyone found to have been involved in the vote-buying scandal, whether they are convicted or not, is to be expelled right away," Chen said.
As for the other four, Chen said that "the committee will grant their wish and have them expelled from the party based upon requests to have their memberships withdrawn."
Chen said all four openly admitted voting for Chu during the Kaohsiung Council speakership race and that they therefore wished to have their party membership withdrawn "to avoid bringing further trouble to the party."
The KMT resolved on Dec. 30 to expel any of its councilors who voted for Chu.
Chen also said that the resolution will be submitted today to the party's Central Standing Committee -- the party's highest decision-making body, for final approval.
If, as expected, the Central Standing Committee, approves the resolution, the KMT will be left with a mere four representatives in the Kaohsiung City Council, down from its original 12.
Councilor Tsai Ching-yuan (蔡慶源) was expelled from the party on Dec 30 for refusing to campaign for KMT contender Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英) and openly stumping for DPP Mayor Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) instead.
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