Chiang grandson loses KMT poll
John Chiang, the grandson of late Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek, yesterday conceded defeat in a shock result in the KMT primaries for Taiwan's legislative elections in January.
The 69-year-old, three-term legislator lost by a paper-thin margin to Lo Shu-lei, an outspoken at-large legislator, the KMT said.
'I fully accept the result,' said Chiang, a KMT vice-chairman.
He said he would follow the party's instructions and help Lo in campaigning once she was officially nominated by the party.
Chiang had earlier filed a complaint alleging Lo smeared him during the primaries. But the KMT disciplinary committee decided to reprimand Lo rather than disqualify her.
Chiang said he respected the decision and arrangements of the party, and would not seek to reverse its decision.
Asked about his future plans, the former foreign minister and presidential secretary-general said he did not think a single defeat would end his political career.
Taiwanese media said Lo's frequent criticism of the party was probably the reason she was supported by many KMT voters who were disappointed with the party, especially over its failure to rein in the island's ever-widening wealth gap.
The media said the KMT was likely to make Chiang an at-large legislator. At-large seats are allotted to parties in proportion to their percentage of the total vote in the election.
Chiang is the sole surviving son of former Taiwanese president Chiang Ching-kuo, who died in 1988. The influence of the Chiang family, which governed Taiwan between 1949 and 1988, has been waning since.
