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Updated Sunday, October 18, 2009 11:01 am TWN, The China Post news staff



	President Ma Ying-jeou, right, takes over the helm of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) from outgoing Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung, left, who will now serve as an honorary chairman of the party. Transferring the party seal, at center, is Chiu Chuang-huan, a leader of the KMT Central Advisory Committee. (CNA) Enlarge Photo

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President takes over as KMT chair, says will punish mavericks

Ma's opposition counterpart is skeptical about Ma's ability to lead both the government and the party.

Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party, said an incompetent head of state will not be able to manage a party that needs drastic reform.

She said it would take a genius to succeed in leading both the government and party.

“But this is a very dangerous assumption, and we don't see anything like this happening now,” Tsai said, dismissing the possibility of Ma being such a “genius.”

The DPP chief also urged Ma to return all of the KMT assets to the national coffers.

The DPP is demanding that an independent committee be set up to audit and dispose of the KMT assets, she said.

The opposition claims that the KMT had stolen huge amounts from the nation during the days when it ruled Taiwan with martial law. Ma said that the era in which “the ruling party overrode the government” has long past and that what prevails today is an era of “the party supporting the government.”

The KMT Central Standing Committee — which used to make decisions to be followed by the government — will be a party-government coordination platform, Ma told the congress.

Premier Wu Den-yih said Ma's double leadership will ensure tight collaboration between the party and the government.

Wu said he believes the standing committee's function will not be “weakened.”

During the congress, Ma invited two of his predecessors, Lien Chan and Wu Poh-hsiung, to serve as honorary chairmen.

Ma, taking over from Wu, said that the assistance of two predecessors will be essential for the party to overcome the numerous challenges ahead.

He said that under Wu's leadership that ran two years and eight months, the KMT sailed through its most difficult period and won the legislative and presidential elections.

He said he expects Wu to continue to help the party promote cooperation and exchanges with China.

Ma said the KMT will prioritize Taiwan's interests and the well-being of its people in promoting cross-strait exchanges.

The Chinese Communist Party sent a message across the strait, wishing success for the KMT congress, a KMT spokesman said.

Ma's more open approach towards China has eased cross-strait tensions since he became president in May 2008.

Both sides have resumed high-level talks and signed several agreements since then.

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Comments

October 18, 2009 ludahai_twn@

1. Didn't Liar Ma say during the campaign that he wouldn't be chairman of the party if he were president? Isn't this the same cabal that condemned Chen for doing the same thing? Hypocrites.

2. Liquidating the assets and donating them to charity. Is that how Ma got out of his use of the special funds he was accused of using improperly? Those assets belong to the PEOPLE not to the PARTY to dispose of.

3. Taiwan needs a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to root out criminals and alleged criminals (like perhaps even Ma himself for his alleged actions while at Harvard) like South Africa and other countries that had gone through authoritarian periods.

4. The KMT has only shown that it still maintains its culture of lying and cheating. Three members have lost their seats to vote buying -- with two more in the pipeline, one lost her seat to lying about dual citizenship. They elected a man CONVICTED of election related violence to its standing committee. Pathetic.

Why does anyone trust these people? They have shown time and again that they are not truly democrats. They do everything they can to subvert the rule of law and the wishes of the people.

How about those denials of referenda which are of questionable legality? The unilateral extension of the terms of elected mayors and magistrates -- also of questionable legality -- and falls WELL SHORT of international democratic standards? So much, so much to comment on. The KMT are nothing but a bunch of dishonest autocrats bent on control of Taiwan.

October 18, 2009 cigars898@

Didn't Ma promise he would never lead the KMT while he was president? Interesting how there was no mention of that in this article or any other articles. Have cross strait tensions eased? They still have all those missiles pointed at us. How have tensions been eased? China like Ma says one thing but does another.