KMT veteran to seek Taiwan's presidency
Speaker Wang Jin-pyng confirms bid to challenge Ma Ying-jeou in a race that could split their party
Kuomintang legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng has revealed his intention to go up against his former boss in Taiwan's presidential elections next year, a plan that threatens to split the main opposition party.
The veteran politician has for weeks been weighing up whether to run against former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou for the party's nomination and admitted yesterday he was busily preparing for the polls in March next year.
Asked whether he wanted to run for the KMT chairmanship, Mr Wang said: 'I have to prepare for the presidential elections and have to handle legislative affairs. How can I have time to deal with party affairs?'
The top KMT post has been vacant since Ma resigned last month following an indictment for allegedly embezzling NT$11 million (HK$2.6 million) in special allowances when he was Taipei mayor between 1998 and last year.
The popular Ma, once dubbed Mr Clean, refused to accept the charges and said he would run for the presidency in protest against what he claimed was injustice.
Mr Wang is keen to run for president and Ma's announcement caught him off guard, forcing him to mull whether to fight Ma for the KMT nomination. If he does, the contest could widen his row with Ma and divide the party.
Mr Wang would not comment on when he would formally announce his bid or whether he would announce his plan before the KMT presidential primary in May.
But he expressed interest in having former chairman Lien Chan head the party once again.
'Lien Chan is highly experienced and is highly respected within the party. It would be a piece of cake for him to take charge of party affairs again,' he said.
Mr Lien retired as KMT chairman last year and has been seen as a friend of Mr Wang, who failed two years ago to beat Ma in the chairmanship race. Mr Wang, a former vice-chairman, refused to accept Ma's offer to stay on as his deputy.
Party officials and local media have described relations between Mr Wang and Ma since as bitter. Analysts say that with Mr Lien back, conditions could favour the legislative speaker because Mr Lien may support Mr Wang's bid to represent the KMT in the presidential race.
'Currently, acting chairman Wu Poh-hsiung and secretary-general Wu Den-yih are all on Mr Ma's side,' said George Tsai Wei, a political analyst at the Institute of International Relations.
He said that if Mr Wang and Ma failed to come up with a consensus on who should represent the party, it could split the KMT.
Meanwhile, Ma said he was not surprised to hear Mr Wang was preparing for his presidential bid.
'I give him my blessing,' he said after learning of Mr Wang's comments.
Asked if Mr Wang's comments represented the start of a bitter fight between the two, he said: 'Not necessarily, because the KMT has its set system and will select the best ticket to run for the presidency.'
Except for Vice-President Annette Lu Hsiu-lien, all the presidential hopefuls have publicly expressed their intention to run.
Those from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party camp include Premier Su Tseng-chang and his predecessor, Frank Hsieh Chang-ting, and chairman Yu Shyi-kun. The opposition camp candidates are Ma and Mr Wang.
