Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ho Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳) yesterday urged the party not to focus on a probe into bribery allegations against several elected members of the party’s Central Standing Committee after the party revoked the status of two members for bribing party delegates.
Ho said the party should now focus its attention on how to secure public support for the KMT in the year-end city and county chief elections, adding that proceeding with the probe and revoking the status of elected committee members would only lead to disharmony within the party.
“[Even if you want to punish them], there is no need to beat your own children in front of other people until they bleed,” Ho told reporters at the legislature.
Ho’s dissatisfaction came after the party’s Evaluation and Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday revoked the elected status of Yang Chi-hsiung (楊吉雄) and Chiang Da-lung (江達隆) for bribing party delegates during the election.
Yang was found to have sent fish worth NT$120 via a home delivery service, while Chiang sent red wine to delegates.
Both Yang and Chiang denied the allegations. A small group of KMT delegates also visited party headquarters on Wednesday with boxes of gifts they said they had received during the election, protesting the party’s decision to only punish Yang and Chiang.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), however, said punishing those who were found to have bribed party delegates during the election would help the party garner support from swing voters in the year-end city and county chief elections.
Meanwhile, five KMT legislators yesterday urged the party to hold the election for the committee members again.
KMT legislators Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), Lin Te-fu (林德福), Sun Ta-chien (孫大千), Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) and Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) told a joint press conference that if the party does not hold a re-election, the public would question the determination of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to reform the KMT.
Lai said that even if the party decided to hold another election, it should continue investigating if other elected committee members had also been involved in bribery.
At a separate setting, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the KMT revoking membership of its Central Standing Committee was hardly sufficient punishment and that prosecutors must be involved in the investigation.
DPP Spokesman Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told a press conference that although Yang and Chiang had been suspended for bribery, the gesture was not enough because what the two did was a violation of the Election and Recall Act for Public Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法) and therefore they should face legal ramifications. An amendment to the Act in 2007 made vote-buying issues also applicable to intra-party elections.
“Ma has promised a party with high morals, but how can the KMT have high moral standards when bribery is rampant in their Central Standing Committee,” Tsai said.
He said a list of 11 other committee members who were suspected of bribery has been published, but so far Ma hasn’t taken any action on it.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday urged Ma to live up to his promise to eliminate all KMT assets during his term as chairman.
A poll conducted by the TSU of 1,058 people suggested that 57 percent of respondents say they do not believe Ma will carry out his promise and more than 60 percent said the KMT should return the assets to the people, TSU Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) said.
“Ma made the same promise when he was KMT chairman in 2000. Nearly a decade later, the KMT has made zero progress on the matter. It is very difficult to believe that this time Ma will do what he promises, but we sincerely hope he does,” Lin said.
Lin said that for one party to have such vast assets puts the other political parties in the country in an unfair position and it goes against democratic values.
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