A petition launched by 26 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee members and signed by more than 650 party representatives for the KMT to allow members to directly vote for local branch directors instead of being appointed was yesterday delivered to party headquarters.
Central Standing Committee member Yao Chiang-lin (姚江臨), who delivered the petition, said the number of signatures was record-breaking and showed that party members agreed on the issue.
Yao said that while the signatures were only from party representatives on Taiwan proper, they exceeded half of the total number of party representatives, which is 1,176.
The proposal asked for an amendment of the party charter’s Article 26 to allow direct elections of local branch directors, but leaving the party’s leadership with the authority to appoint deputy directors and to ratify local appraisal committee members.
The petition also asked for the implementation of the amended charter within a year of its amendment.
In a talk with party members, KMT Vice Chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢) said that delegation of power and responsibility is a good thing, but should be instituted gradually, as there is no precedent.
Prior to enabling direct elections for local branch directors, the party must implement a clear delineation of authority between local branches and the party’s leadership, he added.
Likening the KMT’s efforts to promote local figures to directors of local branch headquarters to the three stages of the Republic of China’s (ROC) introduction of the Constitution, Chan said the party is in the second stage.
Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) in 1911 founded the ROC in Guangzhou, China, and introduced the three-stage plan to restore peace to the nation.
The first stage empowered the military government while seeking to remove warlords, after which it was to transform into an interim party-led government in the second stage.
The third stage was the termination of the interim government, allowing the nation to adhere to the rule of law per the Constitution.
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