If New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) is elected chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) must not seek to influence him on what path the party should take, KMT legislators said.
The KMT is scheduled to vote on Jan. 17 to elect Ma’s successor as chairman after he stepped down from the post following the party’s defeat in the Nov. 29 elections.
Chu announced his candidacy on Friday and is thus far the only contender in the race.
Party officials said that 13 people had picked up registration forms for the election by Saturday’s deadline, but that only Chu has completed the procedure with the payment of a NT$2 million (US$62,900) administrative fee.
No doubt taking into account that Chu is the sole candidate in the race, several KMT lawmakers urged him to walk his own path and not be constrained by Ma’s ideas if he wins the election.
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said that by stepping down as chairman, Ma had tacitly handed over his policymaking authority in the party and responsibility for its affairs to his successor.
If Chu wins the election, it is unimaginable to think that he will stick to the path that Ma had put the party on, Lu said.
Lu cited the legal wrangling between the KMT leadership and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) over the past year as an example of a failed party policy insitigated by Ma.
Lu was referring to the so-called “September strife” that erupted last year when Wang sued the party after its Central Standing Committee revoked his membership amid allegations that he unduly tried to influence justice officials.
Wang secured an injunction of the suspension, which the KMT has appealed.
Lu said that if Chu is elected chairman, the New Taipei City mayor should change course and drop the case against Wang.
Pointing to remarks made by Chu proclaiming himself “different from Ma” and the reservations he expressed over the new Cabinet lineup, Lu said it is clear that Chu will change the party’s course if he is chosen as chairman.
Commenting on political pundits’ description of the party as having “multiple suns [meaning leaders]” Lu said that having more than one figurehead is not the KMT’s problem, but that if the analogy must be used then the party could only be said to have one sun, and that is Ma.
Chu has said he would not be sharing power if chosen to head the party, but would view the role as that of a manager, Lu said.
Like Lu, KMT Legislator Chiang Hui-chen (江惠貞) also refuted views that the party has multiple leaders, adding that all members had reached a consensus that they must unite and put aside their differences of opinions, an aim Chiang identified as “the highest guiding principle.”
If anyone were to violate this principle of unity at this time, no party member would forgive them for it, Chiang said.
KMT Legislator Liao Cheng-ching (廖正井) said that while the party is a well-oiled apparatus for the promotion of electoral affairs, the government is a policy implementation machine, adding that as long as everyone sits down and talks things through, the party’s member are bound to come to a consensus.
Liao said he believes that since Ma only has a few years left in his presidential term, “he will respect the KMT chairman’s ideas.”
KMT Legislator Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) said it is natural for a party to have a plurality of opinions and that it is up to the leadership to listen to these contrasting views before deciding which outcome is the best for the party.
A good leader will seek to solve the “multiple suns” problem, she said, adding that Chu should have the capability, as well as the wisdom to do so if he assumes the party chairmanship.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said that if elected, Chu must be given the autonomy to do things his way and in accordance to his ideals, adding that Ma should not seek to control Chu and respect his authority as chairman.
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