Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday questioned how plans to build light rail lines as part of the Cabinet’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program would benefit the nation, while urging President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to convince the public of its policies rather than forcing them through the legislature.
Wu made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting with KMT lawmakers in Taipei to discuss strategies to streamline efforts between the caucus and KMT think tank the National Policy Foundation in the hope of bolstering the caucus’ operations.
The Tsai administration should not skip the explanations for its policies just because of the disparity between the number of legislative seats held by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the KMT, Wu said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The DPP has 68 legislative seats, while the KMT has 34.
“The policies pushed by the Tsai administration have drawn mounting public criticism, yet the DPP still forces them through,” Wu said. “If [the KMT] can make good sense [of why it opposes Tsai’s policies], the public would have a perfect understanding of our reasoning. We might be defeated in votes [at the legislature], but we would win public support.”
Wu also criticized the government’s plans to build light rail lines, questioning how much they would bolster the nation’s development.
Former national policy adviser Rex How (郝明義), former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), former Council for Economic Planning and Development chairman Chen Po-chih (陳博志) and former DPP legilsator Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) have all voiced objections to the plans, he added.
On plans to streamline efforts within the KMT, Wu said that after assuming office, he would propose a rule change that would make the KMT caucus whip the KMT Policy Committee director.
The KMT’s National Development Institute, which is responsible for cultivating young and female talent, must redouble its efforts, while the National Policy Foundation must not be content with just proposing theories, but must also conduct international research and planning, especially for issues that affect people’s daily lives, thereby formulating strategies to be employed by the caucus, he said.
For example, the foundation should collect information on whether other nations use rules governing private foundations when regulating temples and religious groups, and predict the DPP administration’s next move on managing such outfits, Wu said, in reference to a draft bill approved by the Executive Yuan last week that seeks to have temples and religious groups registered as “religious foundations,” thereby ensuring the transparency of their finances.
Asked whether former legislative speaker Wang Jyn-ping’s (王金平) absence from the meeting signaled that Wang had fallen out with him, Wu said that Wang had other items on his agenda and that KMT caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) would make another appointment for Wu to meet with Wang.
Asked whether the KMT would consider nominating New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) to challenge Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in next year’s local elections, Wu said: “I cannot make any comment on this.”
Wang, who was presiding over a Foundation of Fire Fighting Development meeting when Wu met with KMT lawmakers, rejected Wu’s invitation when asked whether he would meet with Wu.
“I have no such plans,” Wang said. “I do not know about the chairman.”
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