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CPP seeking to join
forces with KMT
TRUE OR FALSE? Although the chairperson of the
party largely comprising Chinese spouses talked of close cooperation, a senior
KMT denied knowledge of any talks
By Lo Tien-pin and Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The chairperson of a political party comprised mainly of Chinese spouses living
in Taiwan yesterday said it is hoping to gain a voice in the legislature by
joining forces with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
“The Chinese Production Party (CPP, 中華生產黨) is targeting the 2016 legislative
election, as only by entering the legislature can our members truly fight for
equality and reasonable rights for Chinese spouses and other new immigrants,”
CPP chairperson Lu Yuexiang (盧月香) said.
Lu said she had approached the KMT’s military veteran branch, also known as the
Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) branch, to discuss the possibility of cooperation between
the parties.
If the KMT agrees to the CPP’s proposal that the former establish a “New
Immigrant Committee” and include the “outstanding representatives” of Chinese
spouses living in Taiwan in its list of legislator-at-large nominations for the
next legislative election, the CPP will throw its full support behind the KMT in
the 2016 presidential and legislative elections, she said.
“The party [CPP] has not ruled out leading all party members to join the KMT,”
Lu said, adding that she hoped a consensus could be reached next month.
The number of Chinese spouses has been climbing so fast that they have become an
undeniable force in Taiwan, Lu said. Of the 320,000 such spouses currently
living in the country, more than 100,000 have obtained Republic of China (ROC)
identity cards and thus have the right to vote, she added.
“While the CPP may not yet be strong enough to participate in elections under
its own banner, joining forces with the KMT is a feasible alternative,” Lu said.
Lu founded the CPP in February 2010 and applied to the Ministry of the Interior
to be formally established as a party in March that year.
Of the party’s more than 32,000 members, the majority are Chinese spouses, but
it also includes veterans, retired military officers and foreign spouses from
other countries.
Lu moved to Taiwan from China’s Fujian Province after marrying a Taiwanese in
1992.
After obtaining her ROC ID card, Lu joined the KMT and has been awarded a medal
for her campaign efforts for party candidates in different elections.
According to reports by the Chinese-language United Daily News, Lu has fought
for Chinese spouses’ rights to work, full inheritance rights and labor insurance
by staging rallies and demonstrations since she established the Chinese Spouses
Promotion Association (中華外籍促進會) in 2000.
Lu considered forming the CPP in 2008 after the association had failed to make
substantial progress, the reports said.
However, as most Chinese spouses were daunted by the idea of joining a political
party at the time, Lu decided to turn it into something that was almost like a
“women’s club” by offering career-training programs, as well as cooking and
hairdressing courses at party headquarters, the reports said.
KMT Culture and Communication Committee director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) later
yesterday said that he was unaware of any ongoing negotiations between the two
parties.
Such negotiations would not conform to the party’s norms for handling these
matters and the KMT would not negotiate about legislative seats with other
parties, Hsiao said.
In an apparent effort to play down the issue, KMT spokesman Yin Wei (殷瑋) said
that new immigrants were also a part of Taiwanese society whose support the KMT
had been endeavoring to attract by holding forums and events.
Additional Reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
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