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KMT committee
proposes key charter revision
HOLDING ON: A motion to be voted on during
Sunday’s party congress would link the KMT chairmanship with the nation’s
presidency when the KMT is in power
By Mo Yan-chih and Chris Wang / Staff reporters
The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Organization and Development Committee
yesterday proposed a revision to party regulations to make it mandatory for the
nation’s president to serve as party chairman, part of President Ma Ying-jeou’s
(馬英九) plan for closer cooperation between the KMT and the government.
The proposal, raised during a meeting of the KMT Central Standing Committee, was
presented under Ma’s instruction.
Ma, who doubles as the KMT chairman, yesterday defended the proposal as a
response to calls from grassroots members.
“The proposal is not a sudden whim from a few party members sitting in the
air-conditioned room… I fully support the proposal even if my chairmanship would
be cut short. The KMT should not have two suns at the same time,” he said at
party headquarters.
The proposal stipulates that when the KMT is in power, the president should also
serve as party chairman. It will be presented at Sunday’s party congress for
approval.
If it is passed, Ma, who is in his second and final term as the president, would
lose the KMT chairmanship in 2016 if the KMT won the presidential election and
be replaced by the next president.
The 567 Alliance, a group of young KMT members, yesterday raised concerns about
the proposal.
KMT Central Standing Committee member Lee Te-wei (李德維) said the alliance
supported the idea, but the proposal is being raised at the wrong time. The
party should seek consensus on the issue before presenting it to the national
congress, he said.
“The seven-in-one municipal elections are approaching, and the proposal could
become a way [for the president] to avoid the responsibility for the result of
next year’s elections. The timing of the proposal is very inappropriate,” he
said.
The alliance had made a similar proposal in the past as a way to force Ma step
down as KMT chairman once his presidency ends in 2016, but it was opposed by
other party members.
Under current party regulations, Ma, who was re-elected chairman in June, would
serve until 2017.
However, yesterday KMT officials dismissed the alliance’s concerns, and said Ma
wanted to establish a new system to enhance cooperation between the party and
the government.
Senior DPP politicians declined to comment on the possible change, saying that
it was an internal KMT affair. The DPP has a similar regulation in its chapter,
Article 15, which stipulates that an incumbent president would be automatically
serve as party chairman until the end of his or her presidential term.
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said the regulation had been an experiment for
the DPP, but experience has shown that such centralization of power was flawed.
Citing Japan’s parliamentary system, Hsieh said the leader of the majority party
serves as prime minister, but allows the secretary-general handle party affairs,
so that the prime minister could concentrate on national affairs.
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said the DPP and KMT should reconsider
the mechanism if it the public dislikes it, adding that the KMT’s planned change
feels like “the second coming of the Leninism,” which is not a good thing.
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