KMT denies rumors that it is going to `clean house'

"The idea has never crossed my mind ... Leaving the KMT is very unlikely ? I'd rather be considered a black sheep within the KMT."

Chang Chang-tsai, KMT legislator

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday denied rumors that the party is working to "clean house" by kicking out pro-localization members and others who have been seen frequently interacting with the pan-green camp.

Saying that the party had no such intention, KMT spokeswoman Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) yesterday dismissed the rumors as "another attempt by people who wish to make use of all their time to drive wedges among party members."

Kuo said that "Party Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) has met with all the party's pro-localization legislators, who in return reaffirmed their loyalty toward the party.

"Chairman Lien is confident in all the party's members and legislators," Kuo said, saying that "the party right now has no intention of cleaning house, but only of staying united" in order to perform well in the year-end legislative elections.

The talk of "cleaning house" has come in the midst of mounting calls from members of the party's pro-localization faction who, in the wake of Lien's failure to win the presidential election, have urged the party to speed up reforms. The pro-localization faction has also expressed concern about Lien's proposal to merge the KMT with the People First Party.

While declining to name individuals, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) said that a number of KMT members -- notably, pro-localization members -- had approached the pan-green camp expressing an interest in joining.

Having been implicated in such remarks, pro-localization KMT members such as Legislators Chen Hung-chang (陳宏昌), Hsu Chung-hsiung (徐中雄) and Chang Chang-tsai (張昌財) expressed irritation and said they had no interest in defecting from the KMT.

"The idea has never crossed my mind," Hsu said.

Chang said that he had been asked by the TSU several times if he were willing to switch party membership.

"My leaving the KMT is very unlikely ? I'd rather be considered a black sheep within the KMT," Chang said.

Chang's remarks meshed with those of TSU caucus whip Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘), who admitted that the party had met with setbacks in its efforts to attract KMT members.

Saying that he is sure that no one within the party wants to defect, Legislative Speaker and KMT Vice Chairman Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday suggested that party authorities spend more time trying to understand the thoughts of party members who are of Hoklo (more commonly known as Taiwanese) ethnicity.