Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) dropped a bombshell announcement on Wednesday last week: The party is nominating former premier Simon Chang (張善政) as its candidate for Taoyuan mayor.
The nomination might have come as a surprise to the public, but it completely ambushed the KMT local factions in Taoyuan. Chang was not considered as, or even rumored to be, a potential candidate right up to the announcement.
The list of candidates expected for nomination were KMT legislators Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲), Lu Ming-che (魯明哲) and Wan Mei-ling (萬美玲), and former KMT Taipei city councilor Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強).
Lo had expressed his intention to run more than a month earlier, but his proposal was met with strong opposition from local factions. Chu reportedly ordered Lo to back out of the race, as he would “never, ever nominate” him.
Believing himself to be as strong a candidate as the others, Lo moved to Taoyuan and resigned as a councilor to demonstrate his resolve.
The KMT gave subtle or direct hints that misled other candidates into running, with many believing that a decision would be made in July.
Lu Yu-ling — endorsed by Taoyuan City Council Speaker Chiu Yi-sheng (邱奕勝) — started putting up billboards with encouragement from the party.
Lu Ming-che, who had the highest approval ratings in opinion polls, also gave his consent if he were to be enlisted by the party.
As a result, the announcement of Chang’s nomination created a backlash, leaving the hopeful candidates reeling. Chiu even left the KMT’s Line groups to express his ire.
So far, Chu’s nomination of Chang can be seen as either the greatest gamble in his political career or his dumbest move as a KMT leader.
With the nomination, Chu is tying his political career to a Chang election victory. If Chang wins in November, then all hail Chu as the omniscient leader, but if he fails, it would be “goodbye Chu.”
On the surface, the move seemed “cunning,” killing three birds with one stone.
First, Lo, a “troublemaker” who refused to heed direct orders from the party, was eliminated. As the nomination came after Lo resigned as councilor, it is hard not to view this as Chu carrying out a personal vendetta, showing his authority over Lo’s insubordination.
Second, the move puts pressure on Chiu. As the head of a local faction, most legislators, city councilors and organizations look to Chiu as their leader, but he has been forced into a position where he must endorse Chang or risk being labeled a “nonadherent.”
Finally, it integrated the voices of the local factions, which favored different candidates. Chu is seeking to keep the factions in line by pushing forward a candidate who stands above the fray.
Chu is eager for the KMT to take back the city from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Despite the KMT’s repeated assertions about the importance of party unity, Chu’s move has only created more chaos for it.
Chang would need to look to Chiu and the local factions to help run his campaign, but Chu’s ruthless maneuver will only win Chang lukewarm support or a cold shoulder.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) of the DPP has had a decent approval rating, so the KMT will need the support of local factions if Chang is to win.
Now that Chu has opened up a can of worms with Chang’s nomination, he will have to quickly mop up the mess to set the campaign on a winning track.
Chu has never been a strong leader, but the fiasco in Taoyuan has only exposed him as nothing more than a paper tiger.
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