Mon, Dec 11, 2006 page3

• Elections 2006: Legislators say KMT must learn lessons

  PRO-LOCALIZATION Hsu Shu-po said the party should make more of an effort to woo voters in the south of Taiwan, despite their success in the Taipei mayoral poll

  • By Ko Shu-ling and Shih Hsiu-chuan / STAFF REPORTERS
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  Although Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) termed Saturday's election an "acceptable performance" for the party, some KMT lawmakers yesterday suggested Ma should see the electoral outcome as a "failure."

  KMT mayoral candidate Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) won by a 12.92 percent margin in Taipei but its candidate in Kaohsiung, Huang Chun-ying (黃俊英), lost by a 0.14 percent margin.

  After the election, Ma said he was satisfied as the party had retained control in Taipei and consolidated its support base in Kaohsiung.

  But Legislators Shyu Jong- shyoung (徐中雄) and Hsu Shu-po (許舒博), who have been labeled as a pro-localization faction, urged Ma to reflect the ideological line of the party as they believed the election result was actually a defeat for the party.

  "The biggest obstacle to the party's quest to regain power in 2008 is that we lack a political star holding a pro-localization stance as local consciousness is going to be a key factor in winning the 2008 presidential election," Hsu Chung-hsiung said.

  The election result showed that "integrity" still couldn't vanquish "corruption" when the issue of local consciousness was brought into focus, he said.

  Hsu Shu-po said the party should learn some lessons from the election and make efforts to encourage people in southern Taiwan to identify with the party.

  "As an opposition party, the legislature is the only stage. We should not boycott the review of the arms procurement bill, the president's nomination list for the Control Yuan members and the state's top prosecutor and not be led by the nose anymore," he said.

  Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday reiterated his determination not to accept Ma's offer to resume as the party's vice chairman, saying that he would be more than willing to pass on the opportunity to somebody else.

  "I'm pretty content being the party's permanent volunteer and I will fully support and cooperate with the party's policies," said Wang, formerly one of the KMT's vice chairmen.

  He lost his bid for the KMT chairmanship last year to Ma.

  "Some people may have a high position but it is meaningless if they do not care about the party and refuse to help out at a time of need," Wang said.

  In related news, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday called for "political reshuffling" following Saturday's elections.

  As the People First Party and the Taiwan Solidarity Union, did not do well in the elections, Lu said she would like them to consider "political reshuffling," without elaborating further.

  Lu said that there was no winner or loser in the elections as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the Kaohsiung mayoral election and the KMT won the Taipei mayoral poll.

  "It is God's will. God blesses Taiwan and God does not want to see political instability," she said.

  If the KMT had won both elections, it would become "too proud" and it was likely that political tension could heighten and instability might occur, she said.

  "The elections give both the DPP and KMT an opportunity to reflect and push for more reforms," Lu said.
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