Subscribe here

Newly-elected Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang
(Photo from: United Daily News)

Johnny Chiang Elected KMT Chairman in Landslide By-Election, Ushering Generational Reform

China Times, March 8, 2020

 

The results of the Kuomintang (KMT) by-election came out March 7, and Legislator Johnny Chiang, who won nearly 70 percent of the votes, was elected chairman. His opponent, Former Vice Chairman Hau Lung-pin, garnered 31 percent of the votes. The election results called for a transfer of power to the next generation. Chiang will be sworn in on March 9. Chiang emphasized in his victory speech that he would expedite key appointments within the party and implement internal reforms.

 

The KMT by-election this time around set several records. Johnny Chiang, 48, became the youngest party chairman since founder and premier Sun Yat-sen. It passed the baton to a leader of the new generation. He is also the first legislator to concurrently serve as chairman. And he, like former chairmen Lee Teng-hui and Wu Dun-yih before him, was third to hail from a local Taiwanese family to  assume the role of KMT chairman. It is regarded as an opportunity for internal reform and localization of the KMT. Next Thursday, Chiang will lead the new Central Standing Committee members to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to pay tribute to Sun.

 

For this by-election, there were 345,971 eligible voters, 124,019 votes cast, 676 invalid votes, and a turnout rate of 35.85 percent, a record low. Chiang won an overwhelming victory with 84,860 votes, or 68.8 percent of the valid ballot, and led in all counties and cities. Hau received 38,483 votes, or 31.2 percent of the valid ballot. According to the polls, Chiang's hometown, Taichung, gave him face with 80 percent of the votes, which is the highest among counties and cities. Changhua, regarded as the "psychic octopus", awarded him 74 percent of the votes. Even Hau’s safe constituencies Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung were all turned over to Chiang.

 

Immediately after securing victory, Chiang reiterated his vision for the transformation of the KMT. He emphasized that future reforms have more to do with work than human affairs, reform is about work, not positions. The organizational reform will change the focus from party headquarters to focusing more on the local chapters to connect with the people.

 

As the new party leader was decided, Hau issued a statement to congratulate Chiang in real-time, wishing him success in implementing the reform promise. Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu also offered his blessing. He hoped that under the leadership of Chiang, the reputation of the KMT will be polished and it will do real things to win back the hearts of the people. He would do his best to meet whatever needs. Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen expected Chiang would listen to the voices of young people and unite the followers. Yunlin County Magistrate Chang Li-shan also offered full cooperation with the party to support the new chairman.

 

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Cho Jung-tai commented: "I know very well the path of reform can't be turned back. We have been there and hope that the KMT can also move smoothly forward!" Legislative Yuan Speaker You Si-kun said that this election would bring new life to Taiwanese politics.

 

Spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said that for many years the Communist Party and the KMT have actively promoted the peaceful development of cross-strait relations on the basis of the common political basis of the “1992 Consensus” and opposition towards Taiwan independence. It is hoped that under the leadership of Chiang, the KMT will cherish and maintain the existing political foundation of the two parties.

 

According to an analysis by sources in Beijing, the Central Committee of the CCP may not send a congratulatory message to Chiang because Chiang has yet to formally endorse the "1992 Consensus."

 

From: https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20200308000432-260102?chdtv

The spokesperson of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, State Council, came forward to call upon the KMT to continue to abide by the "1992 Consensus."
(Photo from: China Times)

For KMT to Reform, New Chairman Must "Dare to Offend"

United Daily News Editorial, March 7, 2020

 

The by-election for Kuomintang (KMT) chairman ended with little public attention, with a record low turnout rate of only 35 percent, especially low given that the KMT chairman is directly elected by party members, lower even than the 41 percent turnout in the 2016 by-election. Party members voted with indifference in this by-election. This figure is a direct result of the loss of confidence felt by members of the party, as they grapple with the not only the effects of the novel coronavirus epidemic, but more crucially, persistent low morale in the party.

 

And what was the cause of this? Looking at the reform policies proposed in the by-elections, be it the issues around bridging generational differences, creating a flat organization, reform the Huang Fu-hsing faction (which is comprised of veterans and their family members), or renew cross-strait policy, all of these were actually repeats of past campaigns. That said, following the election, these initiatives all disappeared. What inevitably happens is that the party reforms are set aside in favor of political interests.

 

This situation reached a low point during the recent presidential election. In spite of the party’s overwhelming victory in the 2018 local elections, Chairman Wu Den-yi made personal political calculations, resulting in sloppy nominations of the president and at-large legislators. On top of that, campaign strategy continued to stray, all this resulting in the party’s disastrous defeat. It can be said that the KMT was not defeated by its opponents, but its own mistakes.

 

As for this chairman by-election, as usual, the two candidates eloquently put forward many buzz worthy “reforms.” However, as long as they address the interest of certain party insiders, the motivation for “reform” often ends abruptly. We saw this with the issue of whether or not to reform the Huang Fu-hsing faction. This would be an opportunity to normalize the KMT’s party structure, but given that Huang Fu-hsing faction has a large number of votes, both candidates exhibited reservation around this.

 

Another example is the party’s cross-strait policy, resolving issues such as whether to (and how to) adjust the “1992 Consensus,” how to solve the highly criticized problem of "comprador culture," and whether it is necessary to prohibit the public office holders from maneuvering across the Strait for personal profit. Those issues were all hastily mentioned but not delved into. The two candidates could only talk at length about abstract clichés, harping on the potential of the younger generation.

 

Moreover, during the election campaign, the KMT still presented itself as the "familiar KMT.” Rumors of various factions mingling with each other, exchanging interests continue, and the party’s various actions favoring Legislator Fu Kun-chi (who was previously convicted of insider trading as Hualien County Magistrate) to restore his KMT membership, are annoying. If the candidate for the chairman of the party "speaks for reform on the stage and uses tricks off the stage," of course, it will be difficult for people to regain confidence in the KMT.

Like his campaign slogan "Dare to change," the KMT's reform should resemble "Do more, say less" like Chiang has said.  The people are waiting to see what the KMT will do, not what it will say. As for the KMT, which has fallen to the bottom, the key to recovery in a year's time lies not only in Chiang but also whether the entire party has a sense of crisis.

 

From: https://udn.com/news/story/7338/4397396

In Second Wave of Coronavirus Outbreak, Musician Reveals Loopholes

United Daily News Commentary, March 7, 2020

 

A scientist from the other side of the Taiwan Strait once commented on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as “very cunning,” meaning that the virus often gave a false negative reading but remained infectious during its incubation period. Many Internet users have said that the IQ of the coronavirus was higher than that of most humankind. According to the episode in the last couple of days, the virus could stay in its host without being detected and caught the host completely off guard.

 

In the concert hall on the night of February 28, while Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 was playing, the coronavirus on the Australian musician, who sat among the audience, was quietly looking for another host in the audience to land in his lungs.

 

One scenario of the above case was that the musician in question was coughing repeatedly towards the conductor during rehearsal, one member of the orchestra suggested the musician should wear surgical mask but was immediately scolded by the superior for being ill-mannered. During the evening of his performance, the musician coughed again as he was interviewed by conductor Lu Shao-chia. In both instances, no one took any precautionary measures. In other words, during rehearsal and performance, out of respect for music and art, people lowered or simply lose their coronavirus prevention awareness.

 

Music is medicine for the heart and the soul. However, it cannot save people from virus or disease. Furthermore, virus infects people regardless of their wealth, age, color, social status or political affiliation.

 

Taiwan for a short while only required visitors from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau to conduct self-health management measures for 14 days.  But five days after the Wuhan lockdown, Taiwan had raised the travel warning to China to the highest level. However, Taiwan was hesitant to raise the level of travel warning to South Korea, Italy and Iran where serious outbreaks had occurred since mid-February. Their travel warnings were finally raised to Level 3 on March 1, making the three countries on the same level as mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. But Japan remains in Level 2 warning till this date. In other words, visitors from South Korea, Italy and Iran, or those who had traveled to these countries, could be wandering around Taiwan before the end of February. Moreover, visitors from Japan, a country that is not serious about coronavirus testing and the confirmed cases could have been much higher than posted, can still come to Taiwan and feel free to go anywhere, indicating political considerations are still above professional considerations.

 

The case of the Australian musician has proved the cunning of the coronavirus. The musician reported honestly his coughing problems in his entry form to Taiwan, but Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung said that the physician on duty at the airport released him without taking a test because there were no symptoms. This is outright negligence! As afore-mentioned, the very cunning coronavirus can transmit during its incubation period without showing any symptom, how could our doctor let the musician enter the country without taking proper testing, especially when he had reported coughing symptoms?

 

We have found several confirmed cases in which the sources of infection were visitors from the Middle East and Japan. Those cases were proofs that there are loopholes in our border control. Minister Chen admitted that Taiwan is faced with a “second wave of impact” in the wake of recent European outbreaks. This Australian musician who came directly from Europe to Taiwan is a proof that the Stand Operation Procedure of our border control is problematic. And the problem may well be the administration’s double-standard motivated by political ideology!

 

From: https://udn.com/news/story/120940/4396456

March 4: Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien began a petition to amend the National Health Insurance Act and raise the health insurance premium for those who have not lived in Taiwan for 183 days a year from NT$749 (about US$25) to more than NT$8,500 (about U$282) a month. He said that the amendment is intended for those who have been living and working in mainland China and have high incomes but only return to Taiwan to receive medical treatment when they are sick. Lin’s proposal has been colloquially termed the “Huang An clause” because people like singer Huang An pay the lowest health premiums. Taiwanese businessmen overseas are heavily opposed to the proposal.

March 5: Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung announced that in order to reduce the possibility of police infection, nationwide drunk driving inspections would be temporarily suspended. The policy was immediately criticized. Premier Su Tseng-chang reversed the policy, emphasizing zero tolerance of driving under intoxication. In order to prevent inspection, the detection rod to test alcohol is no longer used, and the plastic mouthpieces for drivers will not be reused.

March 6: The Central Epidemic Command Center announced that Australian viola player who entered Taiwan on February 23 and departed March 2 was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. He had performed with the Taipei and national symphony orchestras on February 28 and March 1, with nearly 100 performers and an audience of nearly 1,000. The performer also held a press conference on February 26 and participated in an exclusive interview. The Ministry of Culture announced that upcoming performances of the National Symphony Orchestra would be canceled, and conductor Lu Shao-chia as well as many performers and reporters who had contact would be quarantined at home. The National Concert Hall was also closed for disinfection.

March 6: The Landis Taichung, a hotel which has operated for more than 13 years, announced that it would cease operations on March 9 due to declining revenues contributed by rising rent, declining occupancy, and the novel coronavirus epidemic. This is the first publicly-traded company in Taiwan’s hospitality industry having to close a hotel due to the coronavirus.

March 7: There will be major changes in Taiwan’s health insurance system. In order to prevent unnecessary inspections and drug waste, the National Health Insurance Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, intends to promote new measures of user charge and co-pay for medication. It will adopt the measures progressively in three stages. The first stage will impose a co-pay of about NT$1,000 (US$33) for each magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination. The second stage is to adjust the costs for prescription medication. At present, the upper limit of the co-pay burden is NT$200 (about $7) and will be adjusted proportionally to each case. The third stage deals with new cancer drugs. There will be a one-year out-of-pocket pay limit set for cancer patients, and new cancer drugs will no longer be completely covered by public health insurance.