The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential primary in June last year saw a series of attempts to prevent former deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) — considered by some as the initial “brick” thrown to kick-start the primary — from running for president, specifically through a “brick-blocking” clause. The party’s chairperson by-election again sees a series of actions from within the party aimed at excluding Hung from power.
The KMT’s Leninist party structure, with all of the internal contradictions that this framework entails, accounts in some way for the increasingly deep divisions within the party. Indeed, a civil war is now inevitable between the two major factions — a local faction and a pro-China faction led by the Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) military veterans’ branch.
It seems that the KMT has never gotten used to the idea of democracy in Taiwan. The party, with the Huang Fu-hsing branch forming its backbone, considers itself the legitimate ruler of China and the rightful successor of the Qing Dynasty. Anyone wanting to take the helm of the party needs the support of the Huang Fu-hsing branch.
The local faction, on the other hand, well-versed in the art of playing second fiddle to its pro-China rival, seems happy serving only in a secondary role. They know they are dependent on the other faction.
After the KMT’s landslide defeat in last month’s presidential and legislative elections, it is now apparent that no one can fix the deep divide between these two factions. The KMT is destined to break apart, regardless of whether Hung wins the chairmanship.
Six people have requested registration forms for the KMT by-election, but it is really just going to be a battle between Hung and KMT Acting Chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) — whose sympathies lie with the local faction — as the other candidates have little chance of winning.
The local faction, which has previously worked on “brick-blocking,” is now busy devising a new “Hung-blocking” plan to stop her from being elected. While the pro-China faction would not allow them to win, the veteran-backed clique is itself faced with a dilemma: If it cannot countenance an attempt to “localize” the party, it runs the risk of ending up like the New Party.
The rift within the party was only made more apparent when, at the last minute, Huang picked up a registration form and former Taipei mayor and KMT vice chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) backed out of the race. The local faction’s plan to block Hung could never really have worked unless they found a leader willing to run against Hung and Hau.
In many ways, Huang is just like former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平). Both are meek and compliant. When the KMT needed a Taiwanese puppet to look good, Hung became the party’s vice chairperson. When considering its options to compete against Hung, the local faction also tried convincing Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) to run in the by-election, but to no avail. KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) has been another option, but he does not seem competent enough. Huang, as the ultimate second fiddle, had to throw her hat into the ring.
Apart from their gender, Huang and Hung have little in common. If Hung wins, the local faction is likely to leave the KMT. If Huang wins, although her victory would be a major breakthrough for the local faction, the pro-China faction would still be a major headache. Regardless of the outcome of the by-election, the party is bound to become more divided.
James Wang is a media commentator.
Translated by Yu-an Tu
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