Sources: All Taipei Newspapers

 

May 14, 2015

 

There are three days left to pick up registration forms for those who want to run in the KMT Presidential primary, according to the Taipei-based China Times, May 14, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) has been keeping a low profile.  According to an informed source, strong opposition from Wang’s family and obstruction from President Ma’s subordinates have caused Wang to hesitate to throw his hat into the ring.  According to the same source, Wang also wanted to avoid causing a rift in the KMT before the 2016 Presidential Election, so it was highly unlikely that Wang would pick up a registration form for the KMT primary.

 

The KMT has yet to come up with a standard bearer for the 2016 Presidential election.  According to the KMT party central’s internal regulations, if  Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) or Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良), who have already picked up registration forms, did not receive enough qualified endorsements or the minimum 30% support rating in the primary opinion polls, the KMT’s Central Standing Committee would likely directly draft a candidate in June, with the approval of the National Party Congress scheduled for July 19.  KMT Chairman Eric Chu, Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義),  and Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) are thought to be the most likely draftees. 

 

Supporters of Chu, Wang and Wu do not feel it is likely that Hu or Yaung would pass the primary threshold, so they are all waiting to see whom the Party’s Central Standing Committee would decide to draft.  Consequently, the KMT Presidential primary has apparently been set back to square one.

 

During a TV talk show on TVBS titled “Tough Talk, Huang Ching-lung (黃清龍), publisher of the Want Daily, stated that Wang Jin-pyng seemed to want to stay on as Legislative Speaker, adding that there were be two ways he could do so.  First, the KMT could place Wang on their party list of at-large legislators for the fourth time, but this would likely cause a controversy.  Second, Wang could be allowed to run for legislator in a district in a KMT stronghold, and then Wang could run for LY Speaker again after being elected as a district legislator.