Former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) was yesterday elected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman in a four-way race that included outgoing chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣).
Chu, 60, garnered 85,164 votes, or 45 percent of the 187,998 KMT members who cast ballots. Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) trailed behind with 60,632 votes, followed by Chiang with 35,090 votes and former Changhua County commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) with 5,133 votes. Voter turnout was 50.71 percent.
This will be Chu’s second time heading the party. He was elected KMT chairman in an unopposed by-election in January 2015 and resigned in January 2016 following the party’s losses in the presidential and legislative elections.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
In his victory speech yesterday, Chu said his election would be the start of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) worries.
“The KMT will unite in an unprecedented manner, and we will fight for the pan-blue camp’s decisive victory,” he said. “We will fight for people’s rights and resist the DPP’s overbearing and aggressive behavior.”
Asked by reporters what his approach would be to relations with China, Chu said the Taiwan-China relationship is “very important,” and that he would strive to open all channels of communication with China.
Photo: CNA
Chu also reiterated his intention to open a KMT representative office in the US.
Chu added he would travel across Taiwan to gather feedback on ways to improve the party from his supporters and detractors alike.
He would seek to restore confidence in the KMT and encourage involvement of young people in the party’s improvement, he said.
Following the election results yesterday evening, Chiang at the KMT headquarters in Taipei led party officials in resigning en masse and tasked KMT caucus secretary-general Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) with handling the handover of the party leadership to Chu.
Chiang said that despite his personal loss in the election, he felt the results to be demonstrative of a “democratic test for the party, which is a win for everyone.”
Chiang offered his congratulations to Chu and thanked the other two candidates for their participation in the election.
His next step would be to campaign across the nation to garner support for two referendums sponsored by the KMT that are to be put to a vote in December, he said, adding that he would also work to encourage more young people to participate in the party’s improvement.
Chang said the results were "very regretful," but that he also felt he had "taken the first step on the path toward rousing the party spirit."
"This is the foundation that will carry the party forward," he said. "We must persevere in carrying out Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) political ideology. Otherwise we can’t be called the KMT."
His second-place election result demonstrated party supporters’ affirmation of his ideals and behavior, he added.
The results of the chairperson election is to be delivered to the party’s decisionmaking Central Standing Committee for confirmation on Wednesday. Chu is to assume office at the KMT National Congress on Oct. 30.
DPP spokeswoman Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) congratulated Chu on his election win and said the DPP hoped Chu would work together with the administration in the spirit of public will and toward public benefit.
DPP Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said that Chiang’s defeat in the election meant a rejection of his moderate leadership, while the rapid rise of Chang and his strong performance in the election meant growing support among KMT supporters for unification with China.
Although Chu won the election, the KMT would come under increasing pressure from unification supporters, he said.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun, Hsieh Chun-ling and CNA
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS