Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) should step down to take responsibility for the party losing the presidential election and “make way” for those who can institute reforms, Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) said yesterday.
It is evident the KMT has failed to achieve its principal goal — to replace the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as the ruling party — and Chu has turned his back on the democratic process and let down the public with his refusal to resign, said Chang, who ran for KMT chairman in 2021. He lost to Chu.
Chang accused Chu of bypassing the party primary to nominate a candidate who was not the best representative in terms of political readiness, personal charisma and experience.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Calls for party solidarity should not be conflated with calls for Chu to resign, as they are separate issues, he added.
Chu has demonstrated that he does not wish to play by the rules and such a person cannot be expected to bring reform, he said.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), who was the KMT’s presidential candidate, has said he would take responsibility for the party’s defeat, but has not said how or what kind of responsibility he should shoulder, Chang added.
Chang was also critical of other leading KMT figures, including vice presidential candidate Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) and legislator-at-large nominee Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), saying that the two, along with Chu and Hou, have not proposed measures to address the party’s situation.
The KMT has failed to own up to its defeat by insisting that it performed well in the legislative elections, he said.
That is a penny-wise, but pound-foolish mindset, he added.
In Saturday’s legislative elections, the DPP secured 51 seats in the 113-seat legislature, the KMT garnered 52 and the TPP won eight. Two were won by independents aligned with the KMT.
The presidential election result was a loss and without a legislative majority, there is nothing the KMT can be proud of, Chang said.
Separately, KMT Cultural and Communications Committee Director-General Lin Kuan-yu (林寬裕) said that the elections made the KMT the most united it has ever been.
The party should not focus on internal conflicts and should present helpful and constructive criticism to help it continue its reform, Lin said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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