The opposition Kuomintang’s (KMT) new chairperson, Legislator Chiang Chi-chen, is vowing to reform his party. That’s in light of the KMT’s defeat in the January presidential elections. Chiang’s vow came Monday as he was sworn in as party chair.
The new Kuomintang (KMT) chairperson, Chiang Chi-chen, was sworn in on Monday after winning a party election on Saturday. The 48-year old lawmaker won with over two-thirds of the vote.
Former party chairs Ma Ying-jeou and Wu Den-yih were present. But former KMT Chair Eric Chu and Chiang’s opponent in the election, former Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin, were not.
Chiang represents a new generation of leadership for the KMT as the party strives to regain public trust after a major loss in the January presidential and legislative elections. Chiang served as minister of the now-defunct Government Information Office and has been a legislator since 2012. He won his legislative race in January with more votes than any other KMT lawmaker. He’s also the first legislator to serve concurrently as party chair.
On Monday, Chiang spoke about his goals for the party. “In recent years, rapid changes at home and abroad have posed major challenges to the foundation of mutual trust that once existed between the two sides of the [Taiwan] strait. We need to rebuild that trust," said Chiang. "But the most important goal for the Kuomintang at this time is to reform and rebuild the party. After all, we must first win back the trust of Taiwan society before we can meaningfully discuss how to pursue a cross-strait consensus.”
As for his cross-strait policy, Chiang said that he would uphold Taiwan’s democratic system and pursue cross-strait peace and prosperity.