Source: All Taipei newspapers     October 7, 2015

 

 

All papers report that the KMT party central has activated its plan to replace KMT Presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱). 

 

The reports say that in today’s KMT Central Standing Committee (CSC) meeting, the KMT party central is expected to deliberate on a motion said to be tabled by Chiang Shuo-ping (江碩平), a CSC member, asking the party central to hold an extraordinary session of the National Party Congress (NPC) to review Hung’s nomination in an effort to replace Hung. It is reported that after deliberations, it cannot be ruled out that  KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) will put Chiang’s motion to a vote and that if the motion is passed, an extraordinary session of the NPC will be held at the end of October. 

 

If Hung insists on running to the end, Chu, as well as high-echelon party officials, will resign, according to the Taipei-based United Daily News.      

 

The same reports say that a high-ranking KMT official has revealed that the KMT party central is now looking for a venue to hold an extraordinary session of the NPC, adding that the extraordinary session would most likely to be held either on October 17th or 24th. 

 

According to the reports, the KMT party central decided yesterday that it would seek to withdraw Hung’s nomination and draft Chu under the current party rules in an NPC extraordinary session, instead of first revising the current party charter at the NPC extraordinary session.        

 

The same reports say that yesterday, high-ranking KMT officials called on Hung to “demonstrate forbearance for the good of the KMT.” However, in a press conference yesterday, Hung stressed that she would run to the end, saying that she would not accept any terms for   her to withdraw from her Presidential bid, nor would she bow to any  unreasonable forces.   

 

During the press conference, Hung stated, “It is unreasonable for some within the KMT to ask me to withdraw my Presidential bid because none of the rules in the KMT party charter stipulate that the party’s Presidential candidate must be replaced if his/her support rating fails to live up to a certain level. So, if the party central decides at a whim to revise the party charter, this is tantamount to creating a job in order to accommodate someone.”  

 

According to a TVBS report, seven KMT party workers who had been on loan to Hung’s campaign office to provide assistance in her campaign were suddenly asked by the KMT party central to return to their regular posts. Although this was denied by the KMT in a press release yesterday, Hung’s campaign office staff confirmed last night that the seven party workers had already cleaned out their desks and left the premises, implying that it was the KMT party central that ordered them to leave, according to TVBS report. The staff said that a campaign rally for Hung scheduled for Thursday in Taoyuan City had also been hastily canceled, according to the same TVBS report.   

 

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