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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 KMT mulls drafting candidate to run
New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu, center, and others prepare to unveil a plaque on a newly constructed pavilion in Keelung yesterday. Photo: Lin Hsin-han, Taipei Times
PROCESS OR WINNER? Only two KMT members have registered for the party’s primary, and neither is seen as a strong contender against the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen
By Shih Hsiao-kuang and Ho Yu-hua / Staff reporters
The Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） is mulling whether to select its candidate for next year’s presidential election via a traditional primary or by drafting someone with better odds of winning, according to sources, who said that while the party’s higher echelons are determined to pick a candidate through the primary process, there are concerns that it could end up with a lackluster candidate.
The 27-day registration period for the party’s primary ended on Monday last week and the only two hopefuls to collect a registration form were Legislative Deputy Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu （洪秀柱） and the former minister and former minister of the deparment of health Yaung Chih-liang （楊志良）.
However, KMT Chairman Eric Chu （朱立倫） is seen as the strongest contender against the Democratic Progressive Party’s （DPP） presidential nominee, Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文）, while Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng （王金平） has also been rumored to be interested in running.
“Given that Hung trails Tsai by a large margin in public opinion polls, some KMT members have warned that the idea that Hung could actually end up representing the KMT in next year’s election is a problem that needs to be tackled by the party as a whole,” the sources said.
If Hung is the only contender to pass the primary’s signature threshold — at least 15,000 registered KMT members — the party is likely to resort to a so-called “brick-blocking” clause, the sources said.
The clause requires the leading contender to secure the support of at least 30 percent of respondents in a poll of KMT members against the DPP’s presidential nominee.
“Whether anyone decides to take action over the matter, the KMT Central Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday will be key to the party’s nomination process,” the sources said.
The KMT is to begin counting the signatures submitted by Hung and Yaung today and announce the results tomorrow.
As Hung collected more than 60,000 signatures, she is likely to pass the mandatory threshold, but Yang, who collected a little more than 30,000 signatures, could be at risk.
KMT Central Standing Committee member Chiang Shuo-ping （江碩平） has said that Hung should be subjected to the “brick-blocking” clause and cut from the nomination list if polls place her too far behind Tsai.
“The party headquarters should sit down with Hung to deliberate the matter and help her realize her chances of winning the election. If she knows she does not stand a chance and still insists on running, that would be detrimental to both her and the party,” Chiang said.
However, KMT Central Standing Committee member Lee Te-wei （李德維） said it is important for the party to follow its own rules.
Hung should be nominated if she passes the “brick-blocking” clause, Lee said.
“Calling in another person to represent the party in the 2016 race will require a just cause ... especially if it is Chu, Wang or Vice President Wu Den-yih （吳敦義） who end up receiving the nomination. They will have to explain why they did not have the courage to pick up a registration form in the first place,” Lee said.
An opinion poll released yesterday by the Next TV polling center showed Tsai leading all potential KMT rivals by a wide margin.
She was backed by 43.3 percent of respondents to run against Chu, whom 36.4 percent of respondents favored, and was favored by 41.7 percent if her rival was Wang, who scored 33.9 percent support.
Tsai faired even better in a contest against Wu — 55.2 percent of respondents supported her, while only 15.7 percent backed the vice president.
When asked which KMT member they would support if he or she ran for the presidency, Wang was picked by 38.8 percent of respondents, Chu was chosen by 35.1 percent and Wu by just 5.1 percent.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
