Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien (連勝文), son of former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰), yesterday denied that he would represent the party in the Taipei County commissioner election at the end of this year.
Sean Lien stressed that he would focus his current efforts on leading the company and would not leave the position he took up last year.
“I want to use this chance to reassure my colleagues and the public that I will not leave the position now. My current priority is to lead the company and present solid achievements,” he said yesterday after attending a bike-rental service ceremony in Taipei City.
With Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) suffering low approval ratings in several polls, there have been calls within the KMT for Sean Lien, a rising star in the KMT, to enter the year-end race instead.
In response to criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) about Chou’s performance and the party’s alleged plan to have former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) enter the race, Sean Lien defended the commissioner, adding that he would support the KMT’s candidate in the election.
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday also denied that Sean Lien was the party’s choice for the election, and said the party would finalize its candidates for the year-end elections through primaries.
“The KMT has no presumptive candidates for the year-end elections, as we will determine the candidates through a fair mechanism,” he said.
Wu said that although there were different voices within the party, the KMT would insist on finalizing the party candidates via primaries to meet public expectations.
“The primary mechanism represents the progress of the KMT’s democratization, and those who participate in the primaries should follow the regulations,” Wu said.
It would be regressive for the party to designate candidates, he added.
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