Two PFP lawmakers announce return to the KMT

Two People First Party (PFP) legislators yesterday said they would leave the party and join the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for the next legislative session, which starts in September.

They said they had decided to do so in a bid to meet their supporters' expectations.

The news broke yesterday as the KMT and PFP, which jointly pushed for a motion to recall the president in the legislature, seemed to take different lines in the aftermath of the recall vote.

However, the pair said their departure was unrelated.

Legislator Chen Chao-rung (陳朝容) said he filed an application to join the KMT two months ago.

According to the legislature's official data, Chen has become a registered KMT member.

"The new legislative electoral system was one of my concerns, but the more important thing was to answer the call of my supporters, who now believe that the KMT has made some progress in terms of reform," Chen said.

Starting the next legislative election, a single-member district system will be implemented, which is regarded as unfavorable to smaller parties.

Legislator Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧) said her reasons for switching parties were similar to Chen's, and that she was under pressure from her supporters to leave the PFP.

"It's not very kind of Chen and Shen to leave the party at this time, as the vote on the motion to recall the president just finished," PFP legislative caucus whip Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said yesterday.