Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) secretary-general designate King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) yesterday shrugged off opposition to his appointment from some party members, saying he would do his best to fulfill his duties as a top party official.
“I will do my best to fulfill my role and spare no effort,” King said yesterday when approached by reporters in Washington.
“What can I say? People look down on me, and I guess the only thing I can do is talk less and do more,” he said when asked to comment on the opposition.
King’s comments came after KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) challenged his appointment and cast doubts on King’s capability to help the party.
“I am really surprised by the appointment. [Asking King for help] is like asking a ghost for a prescription. It will not help solve the problems,” he said.
KMT Legislator Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said King was renowned for lacking personal skills and called on the secretary-general designate to develop a better understanding of local politics and local factions if he wants to help the party do well in the special municipality elections next year.
King, currently a visiting academic at the Brookings Institution in Washington, is expected to take over the position next Wednesday.
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) surprised party members and the press on Wednesday by making the announcement at the end of the Central Standing Committee.
King confirmed yesterday that Ma invited him to take over as party secretary-general after the KMT suffered a significant setback in the local government elections and said he had not expected to be asked to take over the position.
King, 54, played a major role in Ma’s previous campaigns, helping him win the Taipei City mayoral elections in 1998 and 2001 and the presidential election last year.
KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏), who will continue as a vice chairman, said he would assist King with party affairs, while declining to comment on former health minister Yeh Ching-chuan’s (葉金川) rumored appointment as KMT vice secretary-general.
Yeh later dismissed the allegations, saying he had “no intention and no plans” to take the position.
In related news, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday named former Council of Agricultural minister Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) as the party’s secretary-general.
Lauding Su’s experience, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Su was an easy choice.
“Su has been an important player in the party. He is very familiar with party internal affairs and is the most fitting candidate,” said Tsai, adding that his selection was not a countermove to the KMT’s appointment of King.
Su was appointed to the post left vacant by Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁), who resigned on Wednesday night citing health reasons.
A Pingtung native, the 53-year old son of a farmer has been in politics since 1984. He has served as DPP caucus convener, legislator, twice Pingung County commissioner and interior minister.
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