Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Acting Chairperson Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠) yesterday said that she had had no intention of running in the chairperson by-election until Wednesday, but decided to do so in response to the calls for reform from younger party members and because she could not bear the sight of a party rift.
Huang, who had Executive Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Shyu Jong-shyoung (徐中雄) pick up the registration form for her on Wednesday, said that she had heard the voice of the younger generation and understood society’s expectations of the KMT.
The possibility of a party split was another reason she took action, Huang said.
“There are people talking about leaving [the party] and one person said: ‘There is no need for people with different outlooks working together.’ I am deeply worried. I hope to act as the party’s ‘barrel hoop’ in the capacity of the chairperson to bring [party members] together and work for a better KMT,” Huang said.
Huang was referring to reports of discontent among some KMT legislators, who have said that if outgoing Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) is elected party chairperson, they would quit the KMT.
Hung said that when a chairperson is elected, it means their views are approved by a majority of the members and she could not stop those with different outlooks from taking another path.
When asked about a rumored “Hung-blocking” plan within the KMT and whether her decision has anything to do with it, Huang denied the rumor, saying that she respects Hung as a comrade, calling on Hung to work with her to allow different opinions to find their voices in the party.
Huang also dismissed the portraying of the by-election as a face-off between the pro-China faction and local faction.
Since Huang’s announcement of her bid and former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) announcement he would not run came at about the same time on Wednesday, it was speculated that Hau had been talked out of the race by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Hau denied the rumors that he received a call from Wang or that Wang acted as a mediator to facilitate his withdrawal.
“Huang called me at about 11am on Wednesday to tell me that she was going to run for chairperson,” Hau said.
During a radio interview yesterday, Hau said he claimed he was not against the idea of running for chairperson, but it was not a must if there were other candidates.
At the beginning, most of those interested in running for chairperson “came from [northern Taiwan] and are a bit estranged from local [Taiwanese],” so his inclination for running grew, as many believed him to be the “greatest common factor” between the factions, Hau said.
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