Several senior Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members yesterday threw their support behind KMT Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) reported plan to enter January’s presidential race.
“The KMT is in chaos... I hope [all party members] can put the fate of their ‘greater self’ above everything else, as any loss or damage sustained by the ‘lesser self’ does not really matter,” former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) said during a speech at an event in Taipei yesterday morning.
Wu said he learned the significance of the “greater self” from his decade of experience in the political arena, a comment perceived as urging KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) — who has faced mounting pressure from her party peers to exit the Jan. 16 race — to prioritize the future of the KMT above that of herself.
Photo: CNA
On the sidelines of the event, Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said Chu had expressed during their recent meetings his concerns and opinions over difficulties faced by the party’s legislative candidates and the anxious voices from within the party regarding the upcoming elections.
“As the head of the party, Chu has a strong sense of mission. I believe any arrangements or decisions he has made were for the sake of party solidarity and the future development of the zhonghua minzu [Chinese ethnic group, 中華民族],” Wu said.
KMT Vice Chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) said she hopes her party comrades could unite in their efforts to strive for a better future for the country, the party and the people.
Asked whether Wu’s remarks hinted at his hope for Hung’s withdrawal from the election, Huang said: “It is a shared hope among the majority [of party members.]”
Chu adopted a relatively soft tone on the matter in his address at an afternoon meeting of the KMT’s Central Standing Committee.
“Hung has worked hard to garner public support since her official nomination at the July 19 national party congress. Her arduous efforts must be acknowledged,” Chu said.
It is apparent that members from the KMT headquarters and local levels have given their unreserved support for Hung in the past three months, Chu said, adding that the current situation was the last thing the party wanted to see.
While expressing hope that Hung and the KMT could join hands in addressing the party’s predicament in the approaching elections, Chu urged the deputy legislative speaker to return to the party’s cross-strait stance, which he said is supported by mainstream public opinion.
He also denied allegations that he and KMT Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) had offered Hung any quid-pro-quo deals in exchange for her dropping out of the race.
In an apparent move to dispel rumors that he was interested in running for the top office, Chu said the reasons behind his decision not to register for the KMT’s presidential primary still remained: his promise [to serve out his mayoral term] to the citizens of New Taipei City and his determination to facilitate party unity.
“Hung is an important member of the KMT family. Through rational communication, we can surely work out a solution to jointly overcome our difficulties,” Chu said.
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