Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday announced a bid to retain his post, citing the need for a “kingmaker” to choose the most suitable candidate to win the 2024 presidential election.
As party chairman, with the ability to influence policies, Chiang said that he hoped to represent the party’s younger members and change the public’s perception of the KMT from being a rigidly hierarchical party run by older politicians.
Chiang was clear about not running for president in 2024, saying that he believed the party chair should not entertain thoughts of running for president.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
However, people are free to have their own opinion, he added.
Chiang said that he stepped up, choosing to shoulder the responsibility of leading the party when it was at its lowest after last year’s presidential election, fully aware that he would face criticism for promoting change.
Over the past year, the KMT has weathered numerous issues — including the recall of former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), re-elections for Kaohsiung mayor and city council speaker, recall motions for independent Kaohsiung city councilor Huang Chieh (黃捷) and former Democratic Progressive Party Taoyuan city councilor Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇), and protests over the importation of US pork with traces of ractopamine — but they have made the party stronger, Chiang said.
Wang was recalled as Taoyuan city councilor, while Huang remains a Kaohsiung city councilor.
The party’s long history does not mean it should be old and decrepit — it must rather change with the times, as it has done many times in the past, Chiang said, citing the reforms introduced by then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) in 1986.
The party must change from within as it is challenged from without, and areas such as its cross-strait policy, its policy to foster younger members, and improvements to party finances and organization all need to change, Johnny Chiang said.
The party must acclimatize itself to being in the opposition and be closer to the people, as well as familiarizing itself with technology, he added.
Younger members need to have a say in KMT policies, as the younger generation is the future of the party, he said, citing his being featured on Time magazine’s second annual “TIME100 Next” list — which recognizes “emerging leaders who are shaping the future” — as a way of encouraging younger members to step to the fore.
The KMT chairperson election is to take place in July.
Johnny Chiang defeated former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) in the party’s chairperson by-election on March 7 last year. The election filled the vacancy left by Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who stepped down after the party’s losses in last year’s presidential and legislative elections.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS