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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Presidential Office denies report on Ma, Wang bid
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng smiles as he is questioned by reporters on the change of the Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） presidential candidate in Taipei yesterday before going into the Legislative Yuan to start a session. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
By Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
The Presidential Office yesterday dismissed a news report that said President Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） gave Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Chairman Eric Chu （朱立倫） instructions to block Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng （王金平） from running for president and to hand over the party chairmanship to Vice President Wu Den-yih （吳敦義）.
“The report is an outright fabrication. Nothing in it is true,” the office said about the story from online news group Storm Media.
Citing a senior KMT member who requested anonymity, the Storm Media report said that Chu paid separate visits to Ma, Wang and Wu on Tuesday last week to discuss KMT campaign strategy, one day before the party’s Central Standing Committee passed a motion to hold a provisional party congress to rescind Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu’s （洪秀柱） presidential nomination.
“During Chu’s meeting with Ma, the president offered him a few ‘suggestions’: that Wang cannot be allowed to run for the top office, but Ma is ‘fine with’ Wang being put on the legislator-at-large list; that he hopes Chu hands the chairmanship to Wu; and the party could arrange a legislator-at-large seat for Hung,” the KMT member was quoted as saying.
Asked about the story, Chu said the public should not believe unfounded rumors, especially one that was extremely disrespectful to Hung.
“Everyone has sacrificed for the party. We all put the KMT’s best interests at heart and are determined to fight for Taiwan,” Chu said.
Wang shrugged off the implication that Ma ordered Chu to block a potential presidential bid, saying he was unaware of the matter.
However, when asked about Ma wanting Wu to take over the helm of the KMT, Wang chuckled and said: “How nice.”
In related news, media personality Clara Chou （周玉蔻） posted on Facebook that Chu, who is reportedly going to replace Hung as the KMT’s presidential candidate, has asked his aides to write candidacy statements for him.
Chou also shared a Central News Agency article from May 20 about the KMT Central Standing Committee establishing a seven-person presidential nomination evaluation panel headed by KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin （郝龍斌）.
Also on the panel are KMT Vice Chairperson Vice Chairperson Huang Min-hui （黃敏惠）, who is rumored to be Chu’s likely running mate should he enter the race, KMT Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan （李四川） and Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chien Tai-lang （簡太郎）.
“Judging by the lineup of the panel, it is evident that Chu is in control of everything,” Chou said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
