《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》Eyes on Wang as KMT primary deadline nears

By Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

With Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng （王金平） remaining silent on whether he is to run in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s （KMT） presidential primary, political pundit Clara Chou （周玉蔻） yesterday said she believes Wang will vie for the KMT chairmanship, which, if he wins, would be a greater victory for him.

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Speculation about Wang’s intentions has mounted, as tomorrow is the last day for KMT members to sign up for the primary.

However, the speaker has kept mum, saying only: “I do not know” when asked by reporters yesterday whether he would pick up an application before the deadline.

Wednesday was said to be the most “auspicious” time for Wang to enter the race, with the likelihood of him signing up diminishing if he failed to do so on that day.

With Wang not making any moves on Wednesday, Chou said President Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） would now be grinning over his “successful blockade” of Wang’s path to the party’s presidential nomination.

However, “Wang, who is a master of calculation, is probably the one who is now smirking in secret,” Chou said.

“A source revealed that Wang convened a group of his men on Tuesday night and came up with the conclusion that he should not pick up an application,” Chou said. “Why? It is because Wang knows very well that there is a big chance that he will not be elected, and if he loses, which is very likely without the support of Ma and the party assets, the defeat will negatively affect the party’s prospects in the legislative election and he will become the target of criticism within the party.”

“So why not keep his nose clean? With the KMT losing the presidential election with Ma taking the reins of the party’s presidential campaign and KMT Chairman Eric Chu （朱立倫） resigning over the defeat, it would be the perfect time for Wang to avenge himself,” Chou said. “By then, who else could assume the role of chairman?”

Separately yesterday, Vice President Wu Den-yih （吳敦義） reiterated that he would not run in the presidential election and that his mind is made up.

Wu said he had told Ma two years ago that he would not run for president.

“My decision has not changed,” Wu said.

Wu said earlier this month that he would not take part in the party primary, but he is among the candidates the KMT might draft to run for the office if the party’s aspirants who signed up for the primary are not strong enough to compete with the Democratic Progressive Party.（Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan）

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES