Former Taipei City councilor Yang Shih-chiu (楊實秋) said he thanked the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for expelling him, likening leaving the party to having “escaped the clutches of the devil.”
In July, the KMT expelled five politicians, including Yang, over criticism of the party. Yang is one of the five legislative candidates running in Taipei’s seventh electoral district, which comprises Xinyi District (信義) along with the southern section of Songshan District (松山).
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pledged not to field a candidate in the district, adding that it would back a third-party or independent candidate against incumbent KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) after polls next month to determine who will run.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
On a SET-TV political talk show last week, Yang expressed surprise at the number of out-of-district small donors who contributed to his campaign, adding that this had not occurred in his political career, including seven campaigns since 1989.
He said that people in places such as Pingtung County’s Yanpu Township (鹽埔), Taitung County’s Luyue Township (鹿野) and Tainan’s Yuching District (玉井) had made small donations to his campaign, adding that the contributions included two receipts mailed to his office that had uniform-invoice prize winning numbers worth NT$100 each.
“Many [donors] have much harder lives than mine, but they are ready to give me their support, which I believe I would have never received if the KMT had not expelled me,” Yang said.
He added that in his “40 years as a KMT member and 27 years as a politician,” he has never had such a “moving experience,” adding that the contributors “are lovely people” whom he “would not have known” if he had remained in the KMT.
Because of this, he owes the KMT his “gratitude,” Yang said.
Yang reiterated that he would remain consistent over past political commitments to “keep faith” with his support base.
He said he intends to participate in the DPP poll to determine who it will back in lieu of its own candidate.
“If I lose to any of those greenhorns, then it would really be time for me to call it quits,” he said.
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