Former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday announced his intention to contest next month’s election for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairperson, although he would speak with former Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) about the situation.
It is certain that one of them would run, but it is more likely that it would be him instead of Jaw, Hau said.
Jaw has been appointed to the KMT’s central review committee chairpersons’ group by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who has announced he would not seek another term.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Hau said he was a supporter of Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), who earlier this year ruled out contesting the chairperson election and is considered a likely KMT presidential candidate.
Hau said he considered himself the right person to work alongside prospective candidates for next year’s local elections and the 2028 presidential election.
He would be more impartial, as 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 high-ranking members of the two parties.
Asked whether being chairman would harm the relationship between the two parties, Hau said that it was a “false issue.”
Building mutual trust is the duty of the future party chair, he said.
He said he has no personal issue with former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and that everyone should leave minor issues behind.
Regarding cross-strait issues, Hau said he considers himself to be “Taiwanese and Chinese,” calling the concept of “resist China, protect Taiwan” a “fraud.”
The Democratic Progressive Party is the reason for the internal divisions in society, he said.
Only an open dialogue with China can protect Taiwan, he added.
He said he upholds three principles: not appeasing the Chinese Communist Party, not succumbing to the US and not flattering Japan.
Several other people have announced their intention to contest the chairperson election, 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 seek the chairperson role, a poll conducted by Apollo Survey and Research Co showed.
The survey showed that 62.7 percent of respondents believed that a KMT presidential candidate does not have to be the party’s chairperson.
The firm conducted the poll from Tuesday to Saturday last week. It had 1,073 valid responses and a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang and Liu Wan-lin
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