離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Chu downplays speculation over Yunlin meeting
By Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan’s （李四川） recent visit to a party heavyweight in Yunlin County was aimed at coordinating legislative election matters, KMT Chairman Eric Chu （朱立倫） said yesterday.
“This issue was reported on by the media last week,” Chu said when asked to comment on a Storm Media Group article published yesterday. “People should give themselves a break and only sensationalize each topic once.”
The article said that Lee’s visit to former Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei （張榮味） on Aug. 22 had been to sound out the possibility of Chu pairing up with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng （王金平） in the presidential race.
It said that Chang, a close acquaintance of Wang, had flatly dismissed the idea because a Chu- Wang ticket was not a winnable option and would not be welcomed by the majority of voters.
Chang also reportedly shrugged off Lee’s proposal that Wang remain a legislator-at-large, which he said would not be conducive to either the KMT winning the presidential race or maintaining its legislative majority.
Pressed about the subjects discussed at the Aug. 22 meeting, Chu said he did not need an intermediary to pass on messages to Wang because they always meet in person or speak by telephone when they need to discuss something.
“The visit was aimed at coordinating matters regarding the Jan. 16 legislative elections,” Chu said.
The Storm Media report renewed rumors that Chu, who also serves as New Taipei City mayor, has been exploring the possibility of replacing Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu （洪秀柱） as KMT presidential candidate.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times （the Taipei Times’ sister paper） last week reported a “credible anonymous source” as saying that two senior KMT officials had been sounding out several party heavyweights about entering the Jan. 16 race as Chu’s running mate.
Wang dismissed the Storm Media story as “lacking substantiality and representativeness,” but he dodged questions about a Chu ticket or seeking a legislators-at-large seat, saying: “I don’t know who said this. You go find out.”
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
