The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday held a “mobile” Central Standing Committee meeting in Nantou County, with KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) saying the decision to hold the meeting there was because it is the heart of Taiwan.
The change of venue for the meeting, which is usually held at KMT headquarters in Taipei on Wednesdays, prompted speculation that it was aimed at intimidating former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who is from Nantou and is reportedly planning to run for the party chairmanship next year.
On June 25, Wu said that he would continue to “listen to the people’s voice before making a final decision [on whether to run].”
Hung dismissed the speculation, describing it as “laughable.”
She also praised Wu, calling him a precious veteran politician and one of the KMT’s “most valuable treasures.”
Hung added that she hopes the KMT, with Wu’s help, can achieve good outcomes in Taichung, Changhua and Nantou in the next round of elections and that KMT politicians would “work together without leaving any schism that could be used to stir up rumors by outsiders.”
Being close to the public is not something only for election campaigns, Hung said, adding that yesterday’s gathering was the KMT’s 39th mobile Central Standing Committee meeting and that there had been mobile meetings during non-election periods in the past, so there is no cause to believe there was any ulterior motive behind her decision to move the weekly meeting south.
Noting the lack of traffic congestion during her trip to Nantou’s Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) on Tuesday, Hung said it was because there are fewer Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan, which she said is a regrettable outcome of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) victory in January’s presidential and legislative elections.
Hung said the KMT has been the governing party in the county for a long time and has helped it secure resources for its development.
“The KMT should seriously reflect on why the people would not support the party when it had wholeheartedly put so much effort into building the county in the past,” Hung said.
“Compared with the rule of the KMT, where the majority always respected the minority, the DPP, after it took over power, has not been humble or willing to communicate … and has no concern for the minority,” Hung said.
“The KMT should pose the question to the public: Is having another authoritarian party that creates a fearful atmosphere in Taiwan good for Taiwan’s development?” she said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
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