Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma received the certificate from Chiu Chuan-huan (邱創煥), chairman of KMT's Central Advisory Committee Presidium at the party's headquarters in Taipei. Witnessing the ceremony were KMT heavyweights Sun Yun-suan (孫運璿), former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), Lee Huan (李煥) and Chiang Chung-lin (蔣仲苓).
Ma said he accepted the certificate with humility and a strong sense of mission, and he expressed his appreciation to Chairman Lien Chan (
PHOTO: FENG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
He vowed to make the party a clean, efficient and competitive organization, with the aim of making it the best choice for the people.
Ma said he ran for the chairmanship in order to create the conditions that would allow the KMT to return to power.
After losing the last two presidential elections, it can't afford another defeat, he said.
Chiu said that since being swept out of power in 2000 the KMT has faced a series of difficulties, and he said he hoped that under Ma's leadership the party will be victorious in the 2008 election.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
However, he was non-committal when asked about President Chen Shui-bian's (
"I do hope the president's wish will come true," Wang said.
He also called on Ma to reconsider his plan to push for direct election of KMT Central Standing Committee (CSC) members during the party's 17th national congress, which opens on Friday.
Wang said a new system should not be implemented until the next CSC election to avoid causing controversy.
Ma's supporters are planning to file a motion at the congress to push through the CSC proposal.
The proposal calls for a two-stage election, with the 1,600 party representatives first choosing the 210 members of the Central Committee, and then electing the 31 CSC members from among the newly-elected Central Committee members.
At present, the party representatives only vote for the Central Committee members. The Central Committee then votes on the CSC seats.
KMT Legislator Lee Chia-chin (
Lee said more than 300 signatures have been collected so far and the aim is to get 500 more.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (
Wu dismissed speculation that the proposal is aimed at expanding Ma's power base.
The lawmaker said the proposal was "simply directed at advancing democracy" and "narrowing the gap between the party headquarters and grassroots members."
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus called on Ma to help reduce confrontations in the legislature after he takes over the helm of the KMT on Friday.
"We hope Ma will usher in a new era and lead the KMT to adopt a more rational approach, one that genuinely puts the public interest first," DPP caucus whip Lai Ching-te (
Lai, however, dismissed a comment that Ma had made during the certificate ceremony that the public has been living in "misery" since the DPP came to power five years ago.
Lai said that people's misery stems from the political confrontations in the legislature and that only reasoned debate over deadlocked bills could help improve the people's quality of life.
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