Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) lashed out at National Youth Commission Minister Wang Yu-ting (王昱婷), who tendered her resignation yesterday and publicly complained about her party.
Wang decided to resign because of a controversy surrounding the KMT’s efforts to find a nominee for a legislative by-election that will be held in Greater Tainan on March 5.
During an interview yesterday morning, King told UFO Radio that sometimes it was unnecessary to reveal political details to the public. When he saw Wang’s interview in the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday, King said he could not approve of her attitude and thought she was “going too far.”
Wang told the paper that she would tender her resignation and felt sorry that her party had misunderstood her.
“I find the party’s accusation that I refused to run in the legislative by-election in Greater Tainan unacceptable,” she was quoted as saying.
King said he asked about Wang’s intention as well as that of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission Minister Kao Su-po (高思博) regarding the Greater Tainan mayoral election in November last year.
Their first reactions to his inquiry were quite shocking, King said, adding they made him feel that he was giving them trouble.
“Unless they don’t intend to have a political career, I don’t think I gave them any trouble,” he said. “A soldier does not have the right to pick their own battlefield. If they are in politics, but are not interested in running for public office, how do they expect an army to fight?”
King said Wang and Kao were recruited to the Cabinet after they lost legislative elections because the KMT administration wanted them to have some administrative experience and boost their media exposure.
“When I talked to them, I told them that they had taken the sun, air, water and nutrition from the party and now it was time for them to do something for the party because they were leading in the polls,” King said.
During the consultation process, King said he never criticized any of them for refusing to fight, but then Wang criticized the party and decided to quit, which he said was “too much.”
King said he has a red line and if someone crosses that line, it is better to let it all out so the public will be the judge.
As for Kao, King said the minister did not give any interviews about the Greater Tainan legislative by-election, but Kao’s father had told him through various channels that he did not want his son to run.
Wang said in a written statement that she had tendered her resignation to Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) for personal reasons.
“After serving as minister of the National Youth Commission for a period of two years, the commission has made a number of achievements with the support of my supervisors and the hard work of its staffers,” Wang said in the statement, adding that she hoped Wu would approve her resignation immediately.
When approached for comments later yesterday, Wu said he had not yet approved Wang’s resignation.
Wu said he had agreed to let Wang take a leave of absence, adding that he would not make a final decision until taking into consideration a minor Cabinet reshuffle sometime during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Wang, 37, was formerly a three-term lawmaker elected from Tainan.
The KMT has nominated KMT Legislator-at-large Chen Shu-hui (陳淑慧) to run for the vacancy left by former Democratic Progressive Party legislator William Lai (賴清德), who was sworn in as mayor of Greater Tainan last month.
When approached at the legislature, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) declined to comment on the possibility of his running for an elected legislative seat, but added that he would consider the matter over the Lunar New Year.
Wang Jin-pyng is serving his second term as a KMT legislator-at-large. Between 1993 and 2005, he was an elected official in Kaohsiung County.
In accordance with the KMT’s regulations, party members can only serve as legislators-at-large for a maximum of two terms.
Wang Jin-pyng said last year that he would not consider running for an elected seat.
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