Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) pledged urgent reforms as he was sworn in as the party’s new chairman yesterday.
“The end of the by-election is the beginning of unity,” Chiang said at his swearing-in at KMT headquarters in Taipei, which was attended by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), and former party chairmen Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), among others.
Saturday’s by-election was held to fill the vacancy left by Wu, who stepped down last month after the party’s losses in the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Chiang defeated his sole opponent, former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), by taking nearly 69 percent of the vote.
“I have always believed that what is needed between generations is dialogue and not confrontation; what is needed is cooperation and not conflict,” Chiang said, adding that as party chairman, he hopes to facilitate understanding and cooperation among different generations within the party.
The KMT’s defeats in the presidential elections in 2016 and this year “highlight that the party is behind the times in many aspects and urgently needs to catch up through reform and innovation,” he said. “We do not have any time to waste.”
“In an age of democracy, the KMT can no longer expect a wise leader to make all the decisions,” he said, adding that he would promote a collective leadership.
Chiang has proposed the creation of an 11-member “decisionmaking platform” within the party that he says would advise the chairperson and assist them in the decisionmaking process by presenting a diverse range of views.
Speaking on cross-strait policy, Chiang said: “My basic principle is to stick to the values of the Republic of China’s free and democratic system and strive for cross-strait peace and common well-being.”
While trust needed to be “rebuilt” between Taiwan and China, the KMT’s most important task at the moment is its own reform and transformation, Chiang said.
KMT Central Standing Committee member Lin Rong-te (林榮德), who served as acting chairman after Wu stepped down in January, said that the coming year would be key in determining whether the KMT can return to power.
Wu Poh-hsiung said that he “dare not say ‘congratulations’” to Chiang, given the task that lies ahead.
“This is not the attainment of power and status, but rather dedication and sacrifice for a difficult job,” he said.
Ma, who is also a former KMT chairman, said while he agrees that the party should first focus on reform, its position on Taiwan’s relationship with the world and with China should also be priorities.
Taiwan should have “close relations” with the US, “peaceful relations” with China and “friendly relations” with Japan, he said.
Chiang, 48, is a US-educated politician who entered politics in 2010 when he was appointed minister of the Executive Yuan’s now-defunct Government Information Office.
He has won a legislative seat in Taichung’s eighth electoral district for three consecutive elections beginning in 2012 and received more votes that any other KMT candidate in the Jan. 11 legislative election.
Additional reporting by CNA
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to