Fri, Apr 04, 2025 page3

• Hualien County Council speaker backs Fu’s ouster

  ‘VIRUS’: Chang Chun said he had received calls from KMT leaders supporting the recall of Fu Kun-chi, whose toxic behavior had split the party

  • By Hua Meng-ching and Jason Pan / Staff reporters
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  Hualien County Council Speaker Chang Chun (張峻) on Wednesday declared his support for ousting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁), a move seen as splitting pan-blue supporters and adding momentum to a recall campaign.

  A former head of the KMT’s Hualien chapter, Chang placed a front-page advertisement in the county’s main newspaper that day with the slogan: “Replace Fu Kun-chi” (換掉傅?萁).

  Beneath the headline were three pointed subheadings — “Oppose sexual harassment,” “Oppose fraud and oppression,” and “Oppose special privileges” — accusations that have hounded Fu for years. The ad was signed by Chang himself.

  

  A half-page ad in a Hualien County newspaper supporting the recall of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi taken out by Hualien County Council Speaker Chang Chun is pictured on Wednesday.

  Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei Times

  “When I began my career, Fu was head of the Hualien County Government, and then he and his wife alternated in power. The most prominent construction project in Hualien today is Fu’s own private mansion,” Chang told reporters.

  “Fu’s actions have split the KMT, and party leaders have told me that Fu is like a virus — a poisonous presence. If the KMT wants to reclaim its former stature [in Hualien], it must cut ties with him,” he said.

  Chang said he had received calls from leaders at KMT headquarters who want to see Fu ousted through a recall.

  Although now an independent, Chang served two terms (2014 to 2022) as a KMT county councilor and was backed by the party during his election as deputy speaker from 2014 to 2018. He also headed the KMT’s Hualien County chapter from 2019 to 2021.

  During the 2022 local elections, the KMT revoked Chang’s party membership after he announced his intention to run for Hualien County Council speaker. At the time, the KMT cited court documents showing that Chang had served time in prison in the early 2000s for gang-related offenses, and was investigated for corruption in 2011, when he was first elected as an independent councilor, Hualien County Councilor Hu Jen-shun (胡仁順) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said.

  Despite the controversies, DPP councilors said that Chang is still a significant figure within Hualien’s pan-blue camp, and maintains close ties with several KMT politicians.

  In Hualien, it is well-known that Chang leads the county’s anti-Fu faction, with the local pan-blue camp divided into three camps — those aligned with Fu, Chang and former Hualien City mayor Wei Chia-hsien (魏嘉賢), who is preparing to run for county commissioner in the next election.

  Chang said he would rally other KMT politicians in the coming days to join efforts to remove Fu, adding that they would support civic groups in expanding their recall petition campaign to reach the 10 percent voter signature threshold required to advance past the second stage.
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