Former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) today announced his intention to run in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) chair election next month, saying he is preparing for the campaign.
Hau said he is to negotiate with former Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) about who is to run.
Jaw has been appointed to the KMT’s central review committee chairpersons’ group by incumbent KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who has announced he would step down.
Photo: Taipei Times
Hau said it is certain that either one of them would run, but it is more likely that it would be him instead of Jaw.
Hau said he was a supporter of Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), who ruled out taking part in the race after being urged to step in.
Hau said he considered himself the right person to work alongside prospective candidates for the upcoming elections next year and in 2028.
He is considered to be more impartial because he does not intend to run for president, he said.
The KMT has to work with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), he said, describing it as a consensus between the two parties’ high-ranking members.
In response to claims that his potential leadership would be unfavorable to the relationship between the two parties, he dismissed it as a “false issue.”
Building mutual trust is the duty of the future party chair, he said.
He said he has no personal rancor with former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and everyone should leave minor issues behind.
Regarding cross-strait issues, Hau said he considered himself to be Taiwanese and Chinese, calling the concept of “resist China, protect Taiwan” a “fraud.”
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party is the reason for the internal divisions in society, he said.
Only an open dialogue with China can protect Taiwan, he said.
He upholds three principles: not appeasing the Chinese Communist Party, not succumbing to the US and not flattering Japan, he said.
Several other people have announced their intention to run in the race, including KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中), former Changhua County commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) and former legislator Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文).
It would be good to leave the decision to party members, Lo said in response to Hau’s announcement.
In related news, 62.2 percent of respondents supported Lu’s decision not to run in the race, a poll conducted by the Apollo Survey and Research Co showed.
Meanwhile, 62.7 percent believed that a presidential candidate does not have to be the party’s chairperson, the survey showed.
The firm conducted the poll from Tuesday to Saturday last week.
The survey had 1,073 valid samples, and had a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang and Liu Wan-lin
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