Can the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) survive without former chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
No one would dispute that Ma was at the height of his popularity a year ago. Riding on his landslide victory in the party's chairmanship election the previous year -- in which he received 72.4 percent of the vote against Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng's (
Basking in the flattery of pro-China media reports, which seemed to hold him above all criticism, Ma progressed in his political career by presenting himself as the morally superior alternative to the Democratic Progressive Party administration, which was caught up in a swirl of corruption allegations involving the first family.
Winning the 2008 presidential election must have looked like a piece of cake.
Indeed, after suffering the disappointment of former KMT chairman Lien Chan's (
But today Ma has been caught up in his own whirlwind of corruption allegations, after prosecutors indicted him in February on charges of diverting NT$11 million of his special mayoral fund to his private account during his eight-year tenure as Taipei mayor.
Ma's status as the party trump card can no longer be taken for granted.
Nevertheless, Ma is fully aware that the KMT depends on him and he is no doubt playing this to his advantage.
To allow Ma to take part in the party's presidential primary, the KMT responded to the indictment by repealing its "black-gold exclusion" clause, which was introduced under Ma's chairmanship to clean up the party's image by suspending the party membership of anyone who is indicted for a crime.
Following Ma's announcement -- and his reiteration yesterday -- that he intended to continue with his presidential bid regardless of the outcome of the court case, the party is expected to further change anti-corruption regulations in its party charter at its national congress this June.
Article 43 of the party charter stipulates that party members convicted of crimes cannot be nominated for office. Some KMT members suggest revising the charter to rescind a nomination only in cases where a member loses all appeals after being convicted of a crime.
The KMT's dependence on Ma and willingness to throw anti-corruption rules out the window is shameful. If a charter can so obviously revolve around one person, why not just write him into the charter?
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