The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) decision to focus vote allocation efforts only on its party's candidates was greeted with surprise by the KMT's ally the People First Party (PFP) yesterday, highlighting a split in the pan-blue alliance in this year's legislative election campaign.
KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (
While Lin only hinted that the party was making plans for KMT candidates exclusively, party spokesman Chang Jung-kung (
"As of yet, the PFP and the KMT have still not merged. We are coordinating separate legislative efforts," Chang said yesterday.
The KMT's plans seem to contradict an agreement made earlier this month with the PFP to establish an election campaign coordination center to organize the election efforts of all pan-blue candidates.
Speaking at rally for incumbent PFP legislative hopeful Pan Chien-kuo (
"What right do these people [Lin] have to say such things?" Soong said.
Soong, who had just called for the pan-blue alliance to work on vote distribution as a team earlier yesterday, criticized the KMT for thinking only of only itself.
"The KMT has only the `Ma camp' [political supporters of Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)] and the `Wang camp' [supporters of Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平)] in mind, not the pan-blue camp," Soong said.
The vote allocation system was first used by the KMT's rival the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The system involves requesting individual supporters to vote for specific individual candidates. The system aims to maximize the number of candidates elected per party in the current "multi-member district, single vote" electoral system, by seeking a relatively even distribution of votes for each candidate.
Meanwhile, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Lien made the remarks at the inauguration of the campaign office of KMT legislative candidate Chu Chun-hsiao (
Currently, the nation faces five problems, according to Lien. First and foremost is its national identity, he said, adding that the name of the Republic of China needs no change and neither does the Constitution, as has been advocated by the DPP.
He also noted that both sides of the Taiwan Strait need peaceful relations and he advocated the signing of a 50-year peace agreement with the other side of the Strait.
Taiwan's democratic development needs further strengthening, Lien said, adding that the executive branch needs to maintain neutrality, with an independent judicial system and freedom of speech.
The various ethnic groups should be able to live in harmony and equality, and there should be no incitement of ethnic rivalry in election campaigns, he said.
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