The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee on Wednesday passed a special resolution to allow people who have left or were kicked out of the party to rejoin before Feb. 17.
Applicants whose party membership has been revoked would not have to pay the previously required four years of party membership fees and could simply pay a one-time fee of NT$300, the KMT said.
Those who left the party voluntarily can apply to rejoin if it has been two years since their departure, the resolution said.
Those who had their party membership revoked for minor infractions of party rules, such as failure to pay dues, can apply to rejoin if it has been more than one-and-a-half years since they left, while those who lost their membership for more serious contraventions would only be allowed to reapply if three years have passed, it said.
People who rejoin the party through the resolution can register for party primaries and run for party committee posts six months after regaining their membership, it added.
A source in the party yesterday refuted reports that independent Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) had applied to rejoin the KMT.
Fu has not yet applied, the source said, adding that Fu was eligible to rejoin should he wish to.
The KMT revoked Fu’s membership in 2009 after he announced his intent to run for Hualien county commissioner on the KMT ticket without the party’s endorsement.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Wednesday said the resolution sought to bolster the party and solidarity within the KMT, adding that it was not intended to meet any one person’s needs.
Former KMT Central Disciplinary Committee members Wei Ping-cheng (魏平政) and Yen Ching-yuan (葉慶元) yesterday issued a joint statement opposing the resolution, saying that it bypasses the disciplinary committee.
The statement called on Chu not to open the party’s doors to former troublemakers or those who have contravened party regulations, warning that it would lead to more party members ignoring the central party’s rulings and making their own decisions in elections.
The KMT must maintain solidarity, but it should do so by uniting under a common ideology and not for personal interest, it said.
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