Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) yesterday denied a media report that the KMT has split into “pro-war” and “pro-peace” factions on the party assets issue, with Tsai leading the former.
“The [Chinese-language] Apple Daily’s report that the KMT headquarters have seen in-party conflicts and split into a so-called ‘pro-peace’ faction headed by [KMT Vice Chairman] Steve Chan (詹啟賢) and a ‘pro-war’ faction led by myself is utter fabrication,” Tsai, who also serves as party spokesman, said on Facebook.
Tsai said since he assumed the post as director of the KMT’s Central Policy Committee in April, he has never played a part in the KMT headquarters’ policymaking on party assets.
The reason is simple, because party assets is never part of the Central Policy Committee’s remit, Tsai said.
“I have never voiced my opinions or attended a meeting concerning the KMT’s assets. It is appalling how far the Apple Daily would go in making things up,” Tsai said.
According to yesterday’s Apple Daily, Chan, who has played a key role in the KMT assets issue and served as convener of the KMT’s “party assets response group,” has recently stepped away from the KMT’s center of power, sparking speculation that it was due to friction between him and Tsai.
Citing an unnamed source, the paper said the main factor in the pair’s falling out was that Chan had sought to establish a negotiating channel with Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) by sending lawyers or meeting Koo himself.
“However, Tsai is of the opinion that such negotiations are unnecessary,” the source was quoted as saying.
Chan asked a third party to send a message to Koo telling him he would no longer be able to take charge of the party assets matter after the committee’s decision on Nov. 25 to order the KMT to transfer its shares of Central Investment Co (中央投資) and Hsinyutai (欣裕台) to the government, the source said.
Reached for a comment by the Apple Daily, Chan said “there is no longer a place for him” in the KMT’s asset fight, but declined to elaborate.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) issued a news release denying that Chan had talked to the daily.
The KMT’s Administration and Management Committee is in charge of commenting on matters concerning party assets, Hu said.
“The party has only one goal when it comes to party assets, which is to carry out a converging attack and join different forces within the party to resolve conflicts,” Hu said, dismissing rumors of internal strife.
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