The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is scheduled to hold a party congress today in which the party’s presidential hopeful, Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), is expected to be officially nominated.
A source familiar with the party said that KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and other party heavyweights would be at the meeting with the aim of creating an atmosphere of unity.
The proposal for Hung’s candidacy is expected to pass with applause in the congress, the source said, adding that Hung would deliver an acceptance speech immediately after the nomination, which has been seen as the focus of the meeting.
Ma and Chu are to take to the stage after Hung concludes her speech and raise joined hands with her while the 1,600 party representatives stand hand-in-hand in the arena, shouting victory slogans in unison, the source added.
The congress is to take place amid media speculation that Hung and Wang have a quid pro quo agreement guaranteeing Wang’s seat as a legislator-at-large in exchange for his support of Hung.
Meanwhile, the congress is also expected to approve the proposal to include the so-called “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, which refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what that means — in its political platform, which was presented by the party’s platform revision committee and reviewed by the KMT Central Standing Committee earlier this week.
The proposed revision is based on a 2013 revision, which states that the party should strive to put into practice a five-point consensus reached at a meeting between former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and former Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in 2005.
The party platform revision committee proposed rephrasing the relevant section to read: “extending the spirit of the five-point consensus of the Lien-Hu meeting, upholding the Constitution of the Republic of China and promoting a mainland [China] policy that stresses cross-strait peace based on the 1992 consensus.”
Hung has agreed to adhere to the KMT’s party platform, since her statement regarding the “1992 consensus” — “one China, common interpretation” — gave rise to controversy among party members.
Hung’s comment raised worries that she believed Taiwan’s interpretation should be the same as China’s. For Beijing, its interpretation means that China is the People’s Republic of China, a country that includes Taiwan.
Hung has since retracted her statement, clarifying that she supports the KMT’s position.
On Wednesday, Chu called for solidarity, not only among party members, but also by allied parties and civic groups who share the same ideas as the KMT.
His comment came after the KMT expelled five mavericks for making public defamatory comments that could cause divisions in the party.
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