Author Special Commentator Lin Yan
As the epidemic on the island eases, the Kuomintang restarts the election process for the party chairman and will officially vote on September 25. At present, four people are confirmed to run for election, including the current party chairman Jiang Qichen , former party chairman Zhu Lilun, Taiwan Sun Yazhong, and former Changhua County Mayor Zhuo Boyuan, four people are expected to run for election. Jiang Qichen and Zhu Lilun are favored by all parties to take advantage of the election. Judging from the recent situation on the island, candidates have expressed their willingness to admit that they are Chinese, while they are competing for the right to interpret " 1992 Consensus ". Cross-strait discourse has become the focus of this election of the Kuomintang chairman. On September 4, the Kuomintang will hold a TV debate, and the four candidates will express their respective political views at that time. Let us briefly understand it before this. The four candidates of
are not ordinary people, and doctoral students and university teachers are their common identity tags.
Zhu Lilun was born in Taoyuan, Taiwan in 1961. His ancestral home is Yiwu, Zhejiang. He graduated from Taiwan University and New York University with a master's degree in finance and a doctorate in accounting. After graduation, he taught in the Accounting Department of National Taiwan University. He abandoned teaching and entered politics in 1998. He was elected as the county magistrate of Taoyuan County in 2001. He was the youngest county magistrate in Taiwan at that time. He took office as the first mayor of New Taipei City, who was restructured from Taipei County in 2010, and was successfully re-elected in 2014. After the Kuomintang's "nine-in-one" election defeat in 2014, Zhu Lilun briefly served as the chairman of the Kuomintang in January 2015 after the by-election, but he resigned in disgrace after experiencing the "pillar change storm" and the 2016 "general election" defeat. Zhu Lilun's father-in-law Gao Yuren has been operating in Taiwan's political arena for a long time. He served as the mayor of Tainan and the president of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly, which has a great influence on Zhu Lilun's political career.
Jiang Qichen was born in Taichung, Taiwan in 1972. He graduated from Taiwan University of Political Science and Technology and University of Pittsburgh, USA, and the University of South Carolina, USA. He has a Ph.D. in International Relations. After graduation, he returned to , Taiwan Soochow University, and taught in . In 2010, he was attracted by Ma Ying-jeou and served as the director of the Taiwan "News Bureau". Since 2012, he has been elected as a "legislator" in the eighth constituency of Taichung City, where "green is greater than blue" for three consecutive terms, and is a representative of the "young and strong" faction within the Kuomintang. In March 2020, in the Kuomintang chairman by-election, Jiang Qichen defeated former Taipei Mayor Hao Longbin with low turnout and high votes and won the Kuomintang chairman by-election, becoming the youngest party chairman of the Kuomintang after Chiang Kai-shek.
Zhang Yazhong was born in Taichung, Taiwan in 1954. PhD in Political Science, Taiwan University of Political Science, and PhD in Philosophy and Social Sciences, University of Hamburg, Germany. He has successively worked in Taiwan's "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" and Taiwan's "Mainland Affairs Council", and participated in mainland China's policy research and formulation. Because he was dissatisfied with Lee Teng-hui's "Taiwan independence" separatist route to academic development, he served as a professor in the Department of Politics of Taiwan University. In 2012, he participated in the "fine-tuning of the curriculum" work during Ma Ying-jeou's administration, and in 2015, he assisted , Hung Hsiu-chu, as a candidate for the Kuomintang to run for the "President". He is currently the principal of Taiwan Sun Yat-sen School, chairman of the Cross-Strait Integration Society, and member of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang.
Zhuo Boyuan was born in Changhua, Taiwan in March 1965, graduated from the Law Department of Taiwan University, , and master's degree in , and in 2003, he was admitted to the doctoral class of the , Peking University law group. Zhuo Boyuan came from a local political family and his father was a member of the Changhua County . He devoted himself to politics at the age of 29 and was a relatively complete "young and strong" within the Kuomintang. He became a member of Changhua County in 1994, served as a "legislator" in 2002, and served as the county magistrate of Changhua County from 2005 to 2013. Influenced by the "Sunflower Student Movement" in 2014, Zhuo Boyuan failed in the "Legislator" by-election in the 2014 "nine-in-one" election and gradually faded out of politics. Currently, Zhuo Boyuan teaches at Taiwan University of Daye.
In terms of election strategy, the four of them have their own highlights.
Zhu Lilun focuses on leadership and economic cards, and proposed that the Kuomintang needs a strong and powerful leadership center. It implies that Jiang Qichen’s leadership ability is insufficient and at the same time introduced six major propositions: “winning elections, strengthening leadership, connecting the international community, connecting the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, emphasizing youth, and changing party affairs”. It emphasized that the task of the Party Chairman is to promote unity of the whole party, and proposed the three major goals of the Kuomintang polls exceeding the Democratic Progressive Party within one year, and the "Six Capitals" won the "Three Capitals" in the 2022 "nine-in-one" election, and more than half of the counties and cities that are not "Six Capitals".In terms of party affairs reform, Zhu Lilun questioned Jiang Qichen's so-called reform achievements and advocated the use of "happy donations" instead of the "distribution of party public offices" revised and promulgated by Jiang Qichen. He did not force the party representatives to pay the distribution of funds. The party chairman should take the initiative to bear the daily expenses of the Kuomintang.
Jiang Qichen focused on responsibility and youth groups, saying that he stood up when the Kuomintang needed it most. Over the past year, he survived the impact of recall and by-election without resources, led the Kuomintang to launch the "anti-Lai Pig" campaign, and demonstrated his ability to promote reforms during the low period of the Kuomintang. During his tenure, he used social media, live broadcast and other means to refute the "smearing red" and "smearing" operations of the green camp as soon as possible, successfully attracting the attention of Taiwanese youth and changing the Kuomintang's twilight image. Therefore, he also claimed that choosing Jiang Qichen means choosing the future of the Kuomintang. In response to Zhu Lilun’s “three major propositions” political views, Jiang Qichen proposed two items at the end of the year. The referendum was passed, the 2022 "nine-in-one" election of more than half of the ruling counties and cities of the Kuomintang, more than half of the seats of the "legislators" in 2024, the five major goals of "legislators" were launched, and the "cross-strait special envoys were set up, and even one of them was said to "step down" if they failed to achieve it.
Zhang Asia and China completely revolved around cross-strait relations. It believed that the "Republic of China" was in name only, the collapse of the Kuomintang was imminent, and Taiwan was facing a huge crisis of fierce war. Therefore, he wanted to "eliminate Lee Teng-hui in the party The political remnants of the political remnants, the evil deeds of chasing the Tsai regime that harmed the country and the people, and ending the hostilities to create cross-strait peace", and then achieve the Kuomintang's "self-rescue". The so-called "kings" represented by Zhu Lilun in the Kuomintang were neither courageous nor strategy. Past history has shown that the traditional "kings" of the Kuomintang were not capable of leading the Kuomintang out of a new situation.
Zhuo Boyuan tried to make a breakthrough by combining pulling and fighting. On the one hand, the firepower was fully Open, and have all-round doubts about Zhu Lilun and Jiang Qichen. It is believed that Zhu Lilun and Jiang Qichen have both been party chairmans, and their achievements are unacceptable. "If you take the old path, you will not reach your destination." He wants to give the party members one more choice. On the other hand, he proposed "seven rehabilitation and one belief", and took the lead in "rehabilitation" of , Guo Taiming and Zhao Shaokang, and then stood up for Ma Ying-jeou, hoping to attract the party's tycoons to stand up for him. In terms of party affairs, he clearly stated that he would be a full-time party chairman, and if elected, he would never charge party members. Fee, let the lost party members return to their "mother's home" and let the Kuomintang regain their dignity.
In cross-strait discourse, the four people unanimously recognized the "1992 Consensus", but there is still a big gap in careful analysis.
Zhu Lilun believes that the Kuomintang should play a stable and peaceful force in cross-strait relations, reconnect the cross-strait and resume exchange platforms. It emphasizes that the Kuomintang is the blue, it must not be a "little green", nor can it become a "novice white", "It is Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang, and Chiang Ching-kuo's Kuomintang. "It clearly stated that we must adhere to the cross-strait discourse line based on the "1992 Consensus". However, at the same time, it proposed to uphold the democracy and freedom of the "Republic of China", safeguard the "Constitution of the Republic of China", and move from "seeking common ground while reserving differences" to "seeking common ground while respecting differences", and realize mutual respect between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. It seems that there is suspicion of using the "1992 Consensus" to manipulate the "Republic of China".
Jiang Qichen put forward four points of cross-strait relations. First, explain the characteristics of the "1992 Consensus" from the perspective of the "Constitution" to seek common ground while reserving differences, and on the basis of adhering to the spirit of " Three Principles of the People" and firmly defending the "Taiwanese current regime" and the interests of the people in Taiwan, let the cross-strait communicate and interact. Second, adhere to the "Taiwanese Consensus" The concept of people-oriented" meets the needs of people's cross-strait exchanges. The third is to rebuild a peaceful state of "ununified, not independent, not martial" and strengthen dialogue with mainland society to reverse the "weapon of martial arts reunification" and revitalize Taiwan's Chinese culture and history education. The fourth is to launch the Cross-Strait Future Forum to establish consensus on cross-generational, cross-class and cross-party meaningful dialogue on cross-strait issues. It can be seen that Jiang Qichen's so-called "Constitution 1992" core is Ma Ying-jeou's "unununified, not independent, not martial", but further changed the concept of the "1992 Consensus", which highlights the "1992 Consensus" that the "Republic of China" attempts to "maintain the status quo". He proposed that Ma Ying-jeou rebuild cross-strait relations can only be a cover-up.
Zhang Yazhong clearly supports the one-China principle and the "1992 Consensus" and put forward the proposal to sign the "Memorandum of Peace on Cross-Strait". It said that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should jointly understand that "the entire China has been separated since 1949, but the people on both sides are still part of the Chinese nation." "The two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the entire China and jointly safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity." If elected, the "Memorandum of Creating Cross-Strait Peace" will be signed with . Among the four candidates, Zhang Yazhong's statement is the same as the "1992 Consensus" between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and the meaning of seeking national reunification is the closest.
Zhuo Boyuan proposed to return to the "1992 Consensus" of the Ma Ying-jeou era. It said that if the Kuomintang dares not touch the "one China issue", the Kuomintang will lose its meaning of existence. He clearly opposed Jiang Qichen's practice of shelving the "1992 Consensus", believing that the "1992 Consensus" is a treasure for maintaining peace between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and should be cherished. Only under the premise of the "1992 Consensus" can the two sides maintain cross-strait peace and conduct equal communication and exchanges. The "1992 Consensus" mentioned by Zhuo Boyuan is equivalent to the "one China and each other's statement" that was often said in the past.
. Zhu Lilun and Jiang Qichen have great advantages in terms of selection situation analysis, but their respective shortcomings are also present.
Zhu Lilun's run for the election was strongly supported by the "central factions" within the party such as Hao Longbin and consecutive victories . Lian Shengwen even resigned as vice chairman of the Kuomintang think tank and publicly supported Zhu. This move symbolizes that traditional forces within the Kuomintang are unwilling to let the Kuomintang's party power fall into the hands of local factions represented by Jiang Qichen. However, Zhu Lilun's weakness is very obvious. His intention to participate in the 2024 "general election" is too purposeful and it is easy to become the "target of public criticism." Although Zhu Lilun said that he would be selfless at that time, public opinion generally believes that if the Kuomintang wins a big victory in the "nine-in-one" election in 2022, Zhu Lilun will definitely seek to run for election again in 2024. Zhuo Boyuan bluntly stated that "the person he wants to choose the most is Zhu Lilun." In addition, Zhu Lilun's personality as a political "actuary", the aftermath of the "column change storm" and his failure to shoulder the responsibility of saving the Kuomintang in 2020 are all points.
Jiang Qichen is working hard to gain local factional resources. On the one hand, integrate forces from all sides in Taichung to ensure the support of Taichung’s “red factions” and “black factions” and consolidate the rear. On the other hand, we are actively connecting with other factions on the island, hoping to form an alliance with Hou Youyi on the grounds that he would recommend Hou Youyi to run for the "President" in 2024. Jiang Qichen's shortcomings are first of all, the shortcomings of cross-strait discussions. His position as the Party Chairman has been slow to recognize the "1992 Consensus", and even once accused the "1992 Consensus" of being outdated and having the wrong idea of giving up the "1992 Consensus". This has resulted in the failure of the Kuomintang to play its role in connecting and communication in cross-strait relations, and it has become the "tail party" of the Democratic Progressive Party. Not only has the "KMT and Communist Forum" been suspended for many years, its cross-strait discussions have not been recognized by the mainland so far. Although it has frequently expressed its "Chinese" identity recently, it is still difficult to win the deep blue trust within the party. Secondly, he lost points in his epidemic prevention performance and failed to make a quick decision to launch a general attack on the DPP at a critical moment, and the limelight was occupied by the People's Party. Looking ahead to the vaccine procurement, Terry Gou took the lead. While the epidemic caused the DPP poll to plummet, the Kuomintang polls did not improve at all. Once again, Jiang Qichen's key political achievements were postponed, and many other referendums such as "anti-Lai Pig", also led to a decline in popularity within the party. Recently, Jiang Qichen has frequently built momentum for the "referendum" and hopes to use this to boost the election of the party chairman.
Zhang Yazhong is a representative of the positive and deep blue within the Kuomintang. Against the background of fierce game between China and the United States, he is different from Zhu Lilun and Jiang Qichen's "pro-US" background. He publicly expresses his "pro-China" position and has a certain appeal for the forces within the Kuomintang that support the peaceful development of cross-strait. Military and industrial education groups such as the "Eight Hundred Heroes" expressed their support for it. However, under the current political atmosphere on the island, the number of supporters who advocate cross-strait reunification is limited, and the island's media reports on Zhang Yazhong are also seriously insufficient, and they deliberately eliminate the publicity efforts of his cross-strait discourse. In addition to cross-strait issues, Zhang Yazhong did not clearly discuss the reform of the Kuomintang’s party affairs, which made party members feel unearthable.
Although Zhuo Boyuan claims to have supported many party leaders, in fact, only Gao Hongan, a Taiwanese People's Party "legislator" who is pro-Termine Gou, stands for him.Zhuo Boyuan has been away from the political arena for some time. During his time in Changhua, it was rumored that he had poor popularity and had a poor mass base within the party. He did not even accompany the party comrades during this election process. In addition, he was questioned that the motive for election was impure, and he believed that he was intended to maintain popularity for Terry Gou, or use his qualifications in central Taiwan to divert Jiang Qichen's votes, or seek a "second spring" of his own politics, and there is little possibility of being elected in the end.
The Kuomintang was founded in 1894 and is known as a "century-old store", but now it is already so angry that it is as angry as a slept through the Democratic Progressive Party, and there is a risk of bankruptcy at any time. The "column change storm" in 2016 and the "Shan Guo showdown" in 2020 both had negative impacts on the Kuomintang's election situation. At present, in addition to Zhu Lilun and Jiang Qichen's competition for the election of the party chairman, Han Kuo-yu, , Zhao Shaokang, Guo Taiming, Hou Youyi and others have their own plans and are eyeing the nomination within the Kuomintang in 2024. Party bosses such as Ma Ying-jeou and Wang Jin-ping also want to exert influence. There are constant contradictions within the party around factions, generations and lines.
What is commendable is that in this election of the Kuomintang’s chairman, cross-strait issues have become a hot topic in the election, marking that the Kuomintang has made a big splash in cross-strait relations and making a difference has become one of the few consensuses within the party. The Kuomintang was born, grew up and strong in China. It hopes that through this election, the Kuomintang can regain its own value among all party members, find its own position on the island of Taiwan, and find its own advantages in the hearts of the Taiwanese people. Former Kuomintang Chairman Hung Hsiu-chu once said that you should be a dignified Chinese, be a Chinese person in life and be a Chinese ghost in death. Four candidates for party chairman, can you do it?
