Recent developments in Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) have seen its chairman, Eric Chu, adopt a moderate policy toward mainland China, while the party’s candidates are pushing ahead with Taiwan’s upcoming mayoral elections. It shows that we are actively preparing for
In mid-June, when Eric Chu visited the United States, his comments on the 1992 consensus sparked controversy. Chu said the 1992 consensus was “consensus in the absence of consensus”. The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation criticized Chu’s remarks, saying that the 1992 consensus remains the most basic idea of the two straits.
Chu’s comments also evoked reactions from the mainland. Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for mainland China’s State Department Taiwan Bureau, said the 1992 consensus cannot be distorted at a time when the situation between the two straits is complicated. Ma added that he hoped the Taiwanese people would remain calm on major political issues related to nationalism.
Some Kuomintang members saw Chu’s visit as a victory that not only emphasized its pro-American stance, but also adopted a peaceful approach to dealing with mainland China.
Former Kuomintang chairman Johnny Chan said he did not want to comment on Eric Chu, but voices on the need to improve relations between the United States and the Kuomintang led him to serve as chairman from March to October 2020. 2021. Chu’s visit to the United States therefore confirmed this Kuomintang policy line. Chiang Kai-shek also said that his KMT office in Washington is a good start and that US policymakers on Taiwan can hear Taiwan’s voice, rather than a situation where Washington just listens to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). He added that he could.
Born in 1978, Chiang Kai-shek’s great-grandson Wayne Cheng Wang’an has become an up-and-coming political star of the Kuomintang. He graduated from National Chengchi University and the University of Pennsylvania and practiced law in California before returning to Taiwan in 2013.
Chiang Kai-shek professed in June that he was proud to be part of the Chiang Kai-shek family and that this was his political asset in participating in elections. At the same time, Wayne Cheng said that the Taipei-Shanghai forum should be held under the circumstances that the mainland does not send military aircraft to “disturb Taiwan”, and a friendly gesture can be released, so that both sides can “Equal status.” The way Chiang Kai-shek described his political stance is that most voters have very strong local Taiwanese identities and prefer a harmonious mainland policy to the island, making Taiwan’s electoral market It shows that his remarks were made with consideration.
In mid-June 2022, the Kuomintang’s internal schism began when Chan Ya-Chung, a member of the KMT’s Dark Blue Party who lost to Eric Chu in the 2021 party presidential election, openly criticized Chu for spending a lot of money. easily seen when In the 2021 Kuomintang chairman election. Chan added that he did not have enough resources, but he won one out of three of the total votes. Eric Chu’s Kuomintang supporters were quick to react to Chan’s criticism, saying Chan made the allegations without sufficient evidence. Although he supported him, party leader Eric Chu said he could still ignore him.
Chan’s remarks implied that the Kuomintang was internally controlled by the Eric Chu faction.
Zhang’s desire to run for Kaohsiung mayoral election came in mid-June when he said Kaohsiung could become a “peaceful region without war”. Zhang was backed by supporters of Han Yu, former Kuomintang mayor of Kaohsiung.
In 2021, the Kuomintang reportedly backed former Kuomintang vice-leader Li Sichuan to run for the November 2022 Kaohsiung mayoral election, but in late June 2022, the Communist Party appointed its deputy general secretary and a female psychologist. Mr. On Kochi was allowed to run as a candidate. She ran for mayor of Kaohsiung.
Naturally, Zhang Ya-Chong expressed his disappointment with the Kuomintang’s decision. His candidacy and the Kuomintang’s final decision showed that factionalism within the party remained serious. Chan had great potential to mirror the popularity of former KMT mayor Han Yu.
When Chan tried to run for mayor of Kaohsiung, rumors circulated that an opinion poll conducted by the Kuomintang put Ko Chien in first place and Chan in fifth. Nevertheless, it was unclear if and how such polls were conducted. Zhang’s supporters questioned whether the so-called “opinion polls” were “fakes”. Should Kaohsiung later lose the Kaohsiung mayoral election, it would send a dangerous signal to the Kuomintang mechanism for nominating candidates to run for mayor.
Zhang Ya-chun was never a candidate the Kuomintang Center internally endorsed, but remained a critic of the party. At the time, Chan criticized the Kuomintang’s move as “disgraceful” and deprived the party of its “dignity”. He said the party could send mourners to the Japanese trade office in Taipei, but there was no need to lower the party flag. Chan criticized Abe for being tough on the Diaoyu Islands when he was Japan’s prime minister. Chan remains a core member of the dark blue camp within the Kuomintang.
Other members of the dark blue camp within the Kuomintang included Andrew Sha, who went to the mainland after Pelosi’s visit to Taipei. Some of his KMT candidates were concerned about his visit by Mr Hsia on the occasion of the election. Ko Zhien publicly said in August that Hsia’s visit to the mainland was now “inappropriate” because most Taiwanese want the status quo in cross-strait relations.
Eric Chu kindly responded to Andrew Hsia’s visit in mid-August. He said it would have been easy for Xia not to visit the mainland, as his visit would be criticized for hurting the Kuomintang and the election. However, Chu added that his visit was “good” for the people of Taiwan, as it would at least reduce the economic damage to Taiwan. suffered enormous economic losses. This is a phenomenon that Taiwanese people don’t want to see.
Key Kuomintang candidates in the upcoming mayoral election include Wayne Chen of Taipei City and Hou Yui of New Taipei City. In July, Wayne Chiang publicly said exchanges and dialogue between Taiwan and the mainland were important. He is currently competing with DPP candidate Chen Shizhong. Chen recently pledged to renovate Taipei’s public toilets if elected as the new mayor. The remark sparked criticism from current mayor Gao Wenjie, who said such equipment had been scrapped due to high costs. Another independent candidate, Huang Shanshan, is also running for mayor of Taipei. According to recent polls, Chen Shichun’s popularity appeared to be slightly higher than Wayne Chang’s, but he also gained the support of many young people, as did Huang Shanshan.
In August, Hou Yui’s campaign manager was reportedly young and in his 20s. Hou was seen as a potential candidate for Taiwan’s presidential election in early 2024. Hou’s success certainly points to his rosy future in Kuomintang internal politics.
In early September, when Eric Chu omitted an interview by German media when asked about the Kuomintang’s “low” popularity, the Democratic camp and the media seized the opportunity to criticize his actions. Clearly, the Democratic camp has seen a Nationalist revival as a serious political threat.
In conclusion, the Kuomintang is showing signs of internal factional strife, but its candidate running for mayoral election in 2022 is clearly strong and could either retain his seat or score a new victory. It’s possible. Tensions between the dark blue faction and the moderately blue faction continue within the Kuomintang. Led by party leader Eric Chu, the moderately blue camp steers a middle-of-the-road approach to dealing with the United States and mainland China, eager to win the hearts and minds of voters and revive the Kuomintang. His 2024 presidential election of political importance. It remains to be seen whether the Kuomintang’s revival and rebirth will succeed on November 26, when the mayoral elections will take place.
