Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) acting chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
His opponent, KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (
Wu garnered 86.97 percent of the votes, or 156,499 votes, against Hung's 13.03 percent, or 23,477 votes, the KMT's organization and development committee director Liao Fung-te (
The by-election attracted 181,374 of the KMT's more than 320,000 members with party rights nationwide -- a turnout rate of 53.75 percent.
Even before all the ballots were counted, Wu declared victory and promised to push for party unity and lead the KMT to victory in both the legislative and presidential elections.
"I'll spare no efforts to push for party unity and present the best candidates to win the legislative and presidential elections," Wu said.
Faced with the daunting tasks ahead, Wu said he would shoulder the heavy responsibility to reform the party, while reiterating his pledge that the by-election would be his last battle.
"This is my last battle and my last job ... Hopefully I can retire gracefully when the KMT wins the 2008 presidential election," he said.
Hung, who celebrated her 60-year-old birthday at party headquarters yesterday, congratulated Wu on his victory, while blaming her defeat on local media's interpretation of the by-election as a competition between agents for former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"It's not a war between agents for Wang and Ma. The media owes me an apology ... Now that the by-election is over, I congratulate Wu and expect him to lead the KMT towards victory in future elections," Hung said.
A flower basket sent by People First Party Chairman James Soong (
As a gesture of friendship, Wu showed up at party headquarters carrying a birthday cake for Hung, and led the crowd in singing and wishing her a happy birthday before making his victory statement.
However, when asked whether he would offer Hung any position in the party or nominate her in the legislative election, Wu declined to make any promises.
"The KMT needs her talents, and I will invite her to continue participating in party reform ... But she asked me not to discuss the issue in public," he said.
Hung had promised not to join the legislative election this year, but yesterday refused to reiterate her promise when asked to comment on the issue.
In response to Wang's previous comment urging the new chairman to refrain from further amending party regulations so that only members convicted on the third trial would be suspended, Wu said it would be a decision made by all party delegates.
"It's important that we only exclude those who are involved in `black gold,' and not chase out those who are actually not," Wu said.
The KMT removed the `black gold exclusion clause' after Ma was indicted on corruption charges to allow him to join the KMT's presidential primary. The KMT is expected to further relax its regulations when it holds its party congress in June.
The by-election was held after Ma resigned as chairman in February after his indictment.
Although Ma had left the party, victory for Wu -- a key ally of Ma, who served as his campaign director and helped him win in the Taipei mayoral elections in 1998 and 2002 -- ensures Ma's continued control over party affairs.
After learning of the election results, Ma -- who had publicly endorsed Wu's candidacy -- congratulated the new chairman.
The turnout rate in the last chairmanship election two years ago was 50.17 percent.
Ma garnered 72.4 percent of the votes, or 375,056 votes, against Wang's 27.6 percent, or 143,268 votes.
Wu will formally take over the chairmanship on Wednesday during the KMT's Central Standing Committee meeting.
EIGHT KILLED: Three of the four juvenile victims were children of the man suspected of setting the fire at the tire repair shop after a family dispute Four of the eight people killed in a fire in Hsinchu City on Wednesday night were children and the other four were adults who died while trying to rescue the children from the second floor of the burning building, the city’s Fire Bureau said yesterday. Fire Bureau First Corps commander Chang Chih-chih (張智智) told a news conference that the fire at Zheng Yi Tire Repair Shop on Dongda Road might have been intentionally set by the owner’s son, Chen Yen-hsiang (陳彥翔), who earlier had an argument with other family members. Chen allegedly bought gasoline and lit a fire near four motorcycles inside
FIFA World Cup host Qatar has corrected an online application form that listed Taiwan as part of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Following the ministry’s protest on Wednesday, “Taiwan” replaced “Taiwan, Province of China” on a dropdown menu on the Web site to apply for a Hayya Card, an identification card all World Cup spectators are required to obtain, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. “We express our appreciation to the event organizers for their swift response in making the correction and safeguarding the rights of our nation’s fans,” she added. The card also serves as an entry visa for
ALARM GROWS: US officials are concerned that China’s claim that the Taiwan Strait is an internal waterway is a deliberate effort to muddy the legal status of Taiwan US President Joe Biden’s administration has decided to reject a vague new assertion by China that the Taiwan Strait is not “international waters” and is increasingly concerned the stance could result in more frequent challenges at sea for Taiwan, people familiar with the matter said. Chinese officials have made such remarks repeatedly in meetings with US counterparts over the past few months. In the past, while China regularly protested US military moves in the Taiwan Strait, the legal status of the waters was not a regular talking point in meetings with US officials. The timing of the assertion is causing alarm within the
NEW TRAVEL REGIME: The CECC advised people to stay put in between quarantine and self-disease prevention, but said that they could apply for a location change Inbound travelers who need to change locations for the four-day self-disease prevention period following their three-day quarantine must apply with their local government, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The “one person per household” principle would remain in place under the new “3+4” quarantine policy, which was implemented yesterday, the center said. More than 4,500 incoming travelers were expected yesterday, including more than 980 people who entered Taiwan in the early morning, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), the CECC’s acting spokesman and medical response division deputy head. Lo said many people had asked the CECC whether
RSS