The head of the China Unification Promotion Party, Chang An-le (張安樂), yesterday said that his party would participate in the 2016 presidential elections, and that it would not work with any of the other political parties in next year’s seven-in-one elections.
Chang, also known as “White Wolf,” a former leader of the Bamboo Union gang and on Taiwan’s most-wanted list for alleged violations of the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例) since fleeing to China in 1996, was released on bail after returning to Taiwan in late June.
Speaking at the party’s headquarters in Greater Tainan’s Anping District (安平), Chang said he hopes “both sides of the [Taiwan] Strait can live in unity, peace and prosperity.”
When asked why the party would choose a location commonly accepted as a voting base for the pro-green faction, Chang said the public’s psyche was different than that of politicians.
The public does not really care about ideology, but rather how they can have better lives, Chang said, adding that if the lives of Taiwanese would become better after unification, then the people would accept it, and vice versa.
Chang also said that the party would be participating in both the seven-in-one elections and the 2016 combined legislator and presidential elections, adding that despite the disadvantage the party had, it would forgo cooperation with any other political party.
Chang also visited Tang Te-chang Memorial Park to lend his support to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) city councilors standing guard over the statue of Republic of China founding father Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙).
Chang said former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had only stirred up nationalism and ideological confrontation in an attempt to shift the focus from his corruption cases.
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