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Taiwan’s ruling KMT denies China interference in presidential candidacy

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday dismissed an allegation that Beijing had demanded the withdrawal of a previous presidential nomination, which caused the concern of the United States.

Taiwan’s ruling KMT chairman and presidential candidate, Eric Chu, says his party’s cross-strait policy is not necessarily wrong just because some people disagree with it. photo: REUTERS

Taiwan’s ruling KMT chairman and presidential candidate, Eric Chu, says his party’s cross-strait policy is not necessarily wrong just because some people disagree with it. photo: REUTERS

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TAIPEI — Taiwan’s ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday dismissed an allegation that Beijing had demanded the withdrawal of a previous presidential nomination, which caused the concern of the United States.

“It is absolutely absurd,” KMT spokesman Yang Wei-chung said.

Mr Yang made the remark when fielding questions from Kyodo News, which asked him to comment on an article published in yesterday’s edition of the Apple Daily.

The commentary piece claimed that KMT chairman and the party’s presidential candidate Eric Chu is planning to visit the United States because he needs to go there to ease Washington’s concerns over Beijing’s demand that the KMT switch its presidential candidate.

Mr Chu was nominated by his party to stand in the electoral contest at the weekend after the party’s highest decision-making body rescinded its earlier nomination, Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu, due to her declining popularity.

Mr Yang said that the party began in March to plan a US trip for its presidential candidate and that the plan had nothing to do with the change of the presidential nominee.

When asked whether Mr Kin Moy, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) — Washington’s de facto embassy in lieu of diplomatic ties — raised the issue during his meeting with Mr Chu on Tuesday, Mr Yang said he believed “Washington did not interfere in Taiwan’s domestic politics nor the KMT’s presidential nomination”.

AIT spokeswoman Sonia Urbom yesterday declined to comment on the content of Mr Moy’s meeting with Mr Chu, but emphasised that the outcome of the presidential election is up to Taiwanese voters to decide on.

“The United States looks forward to working with whomever the Taiwan people elect in 2016,” she told Kyodo News.

Prosecutors began yesterday to question KMT members, including Mr Chu, over the swap of its presidential nominee.

Speaking on a television show yesterday, Mr Chu said that he plans to visit the US as early as the beginning of next month.

He said although the party is also in contact with other countries, he is unlikely to visit them due to time constraints. Those countries are Japan, and countries in Europe, the Americas and South-east Asia, he said.

Mr Chu’s main rival, the chairwoman of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, has already visited the US and Japan.

On relations with China, Mr Chu said while not everybody agrees with the KMT’s cross-strait policy and some complain that they do not benefit from it, it does not necessarily mean that the direction is wrong.

“It certainly does not constitute a reason for the administration to stop the policy,” he said.

Mr Chu said the biggest difference between him and Ms Tsai is that he is pragmatic and that Ms Tsai is vague about her policy proposals, especially her cross-strait policy.

Ms Tsai has summed up her cross-strait policy as “to maintain the status quo”, but she has declined to specify how she plans to put her policy into practice.

Mr Chu also revealed that he is frustrated over the infighting among party heavyweights, which he said has been consuming the party and eroding its public support. He said he could only ask the public to put Taiwan’s future first rather than their personal preference for particular candidates at the ballot box.

Taiwan’s presidential election, which will be held in tandem with legislative polls, is scheduled for Jan 16 next year, and the deadline for official registration for the two elections is late next month. KYODO NEWS

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