Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential hopeful Terry Gou (郭台銘) yesterday said that the party was “very conservative” and incapable of controlling its candidates after some of his remarks at a KMT presidential primary meeting on Tuesday were leaked.
Immediately after the meeting, he was given a statement from the KMT Culture and Communications Committee that he was asked to read from when addressing the media for the sake of party solidarity, Gou yesterday told reporters on the sidelines of a National Police Day event in New Taipei City.
“I made the mistake of believing in the party’s leadership and obeying its decision,” Gou said. “Later on, [exchanges from the meeting] were leaked — whether by party members or others I do not know.”
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
Gou was referring to reports after the meeting saying that he was outraged that CtiTV News has been selected to broadcast a KMT platform presentation scheduled for July 3 in Taipei.
After learning about the decision in the meeting, Gou spent nearly an hour criticizing the news outlet and refused to sign a party contract pledging to give up on running for president if he loses the primary, the reports said.
The TV network is biased against him, has suspicious ties with China and little viewership among younger people, he was quoted as saying.
The reports proved that “the primary reason for the KMT’s lack of solidarity is that it cannot manage its candidates,” Gou told reporters yesterday.
“When the KMT’s top echelons — who are like a sports team’s general manager — cannot control the players, how do you play the game?” he said.
The reports also debunked a rumor that KMT leaders are backing him in the primary, as the party has remained silent about the leak, he added.
Gou said that he lodged a complaint with KMT Vice Chairman Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), who is also the convener of the party’s nomination panel.
He said that he asked Tseng: “Who is going to obey the party rules after this?” and got “the same old talk” about how they would make changes the next time.
The party should release the video recording of the meeting and allow the media to attend all future KMT meetings, Gou said, adding that primaries should be “fair and transparent.”
He also urged the party to allow candidates to decide through a vote the TV network to broadcast the Taipei platform presentation, saying that Unique Broadcasting, Taiwan TV and Formosa TV should also be considered.
Regarding his vetoed proposal to include cellphone polls in the primary, Gou said: “All new things involve problems and if you are afraid to try, you will become very conservative.”
The KMT’s “outdated conservatism” is why young people are unwilling to join the party, he said, adding that it must change or lose votes.
KMT spokesman Ouyang Long (歐陽龍) said that the party has no plan to change the TV network that would broadcast the Taipei platform presentation.
Gou was “mistaken” about the KMT, Ouyang said, adding that the party has been absolutely fair when dealing with the primary.
Asked whether Gou would be required to submit the primary contract, Ouyang said that KMT headquarters was still discussing the matter.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
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