Former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday gave ambiguous answers about whether he has former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) endorsement for his bid to become Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson.
In a radio interview, Wu denied rumors that former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), a lontime Ma aide, is behind Wu’s decision to contest the election on May 20 and that Ma would run if Wu had declined.
However, Wu parried the question of whether his bid has Ma’s support, Wu said that he had Ma’s full support when he was the party secretary-general from 2007 to 2009, and premier from 2009 to 2012.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
He asked the radio host to “speculate” when pressed on the question whether Ma endorses his plan to run for KMT chairperson.
Responding to a statement released by Ma’s office earlier in the day that Ma does not favor any particular candidate, Wu told reporters after the interview that it is “natural” for any KMT heavyweight to refrain from making preferential remarks and keep the election a fair.
During the interview, the former vice president said that it is not possible for him to “sever ties” with Ma, as some “have suggested he do” in order to run for chairperson.
He did not respond to media inquiries after the interview about who made such a suggestion.
When asked about “dummy party members” that some reports alleged KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) has recruited since being elected as party leader in March last year, Wu said it is difficult to distinguish those members who are “nominal” from those who are not.
If a company boss with 2,000 employees is a loyal party member and encourages their workers to join the KMT, and 20 or 30 decide to, “why not?” Wu said.
Wu also said that the party headquarters has indeed asked party workers to recruit new members and “put pressure on them,” and cited Kaohsiung, his base, as an example of where “every party worker has been required to recruit new members.”
“I would not dare criticize this call for new members by labeling it a move by the party headquarters to recruit dummy members,” he added.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) said Wu’s claim that party headquarters had compelled KMT workers to recruit members required “serious clarification.”
“Everything about the chairperson election is public and transparent and [the headquarters] hopes that all the candidates could engage in a ‘gentlemen’s fight,’” he said.
Separately yesterday, Hung, who was in Houston, Texas, also called for fair play and asked all candidates to “compete, but not feud; argue, but not muckrake.”
“To have a truly democratic fight,” Hung said that she would invite all the comrades who are to run for the party leadership post to attend meetings concerning election affairs, which would be held regularly by the party headquarters.
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