The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would decide whether to improve or abandon the so-called “1992 consensus” after considering the opinions of party members and the public, Acting KMT Secretary-General William Tseng (曾銘宗) said yesterday.
While many young party members have called for a revision of the KMT’s cross-strait policy, which is based on the so-called “1992 consensus,” whether the party should improve upon the concept or abandon it altogether is not up to the KMT chairperson and a handful of members, Tseng said at KMT headquarters in Taipei.
Before making a decision on the issue, the party must consider the opinions of all its members and those of the 23 million Taiwanese, he said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“The KMT hopes to reflect the voice of the public,” Tseng said.
Tseng and KMT Central Standing Committee member Lin Rong-te (林榮德) on Wednesday were selected to be the party’s acting secretary-general and acting chairman respectively after former KMT chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) stepped down earlier that day to shoulder responsibility for the party’s defeats in last Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections.
A new party chairperson and Central Standing Committee are to be elected on March 7.
During the transition period, the KMT would be simultaneously preparing for the elections and promoting reforms, Tseng said.
After some party members proposed holding forums to form a consensus about the party’s new direction or establishing special committees to lead reform efforts, Tseng said that the KMT is reviewing those suggestions.
“The KMT has no time to waste and will very soon propose strategies and methods for reforming the party,” he said. “We will not let our party members, Republic of China citizens and everyone else down.”
The KMT Central Standing Committee on Wednesday is expected to approve a new list of members, he said, adding that some members who had resigned would be urged to remain in their positions.
The members who stepped down with Wu included KMT vice chairmen Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) and Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), vice secretary-general Tu Chien-teh (杜建德), Administration and Management Committee director Chiu Da-chan (邱大展), Culture and Communications Committee director-general Cheng Mei-hua (程美華) and deputy secretary-general Alex Tsai (蔡正元).
KMT New Taipei City chapter head Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍) and Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Ching-ju (黃呂錦茹) also resigned following last Saturday’s elections.
The KMT is to accept registrations to run for chairperson on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4.
Under the party’s regulations, to qualify as a candidate a party member must collect signatures from at least 3 percent of KMT members before Feb. 4.
Those who have openly announced they plan to run include National Taiwan University political science professor Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) and Blue Sky Action Alliance convener Wu Chih-chang (武之璋).
The so-called “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
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