Power Struggle Inside the KMT: Can It Reform and Infuse Young Blood?

In the aftermath of the electoral defeat on January 11th, internal struggle within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is increasingly surfacing. Different factions with conflicting demands are wrestling for power publicly and privately. Discourse currently are revolving around whether KMT’s current pro-unification, pro-Beijing platforms are sustainable for the party’s future.

Public support for the KMT has steadily dropped since the start of protests in Hong Kong. The eventual defeat of both Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu for presidency and chairman Wu Den-yih for a seat in the Legislative Yuan has created a power vacuum. Younger party members are eager to redefine the KMT to allow them to better appeal to the people of Taiwan.

Clash erupts outside KMT Headquarters

As the KMT convened for its first central committee meeting for the first time after electoral defeat, a total of six groups gathered outside the party headquarters in Taipei. According to a report by The News Lens, these six groups all had different demands.

Pro-Wu supporters, Anti-Wu protesters, militarists, members of the anti-Taiwan statehood “Blue Sky Action Alliance” (藍天行動聯盟), and members of the pro-Taiwan statehood “Taiwan Country” (台灣國) organization joined, creating a chaotic scene of competing demands and calls.

The most noticeable was a group of protesters led by former KMT Youth League head Alfred Lin. He has launched the “Youthify Party” (青黨) party movement calling for a complete overhaul of the KMT party structure. He gathered young KMT members to protest outside of the KMT party headquarters in Taipei and clashed with pro-establishment party youth leaders.

Brian Hioe, a Taipei-based journalist who witnessed the demonstration as it happened, told Ketagalan Media that the demonstration is a sign of KMT’s generational divide. “KMT traditionalists are making an appearance to criticize younger members calling for reform.” Hioe said, “the demonstration is indicative of the challenges facing any attempts to reform the KMT.”

Hioe manages the New Bloom Magazine, which frequently criticizes the KMT for its role during authoritarian Taiwan.

Despite Lin’s former role as a part of the KMT Youth League, he supported Terry Gou during the party primary instead of Han Kuo-yu, who eventually won the nomination. Lin briefly broke away from the KMT when he supported Richie Lee, who ran in New Taipei City’s Tenth district during the election. Lee was an associate of Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je. The KMT had already fielded a candidate in Lee’s district.

Alfred Lin’s movement to remake the KMT

Lin’s demands centered around protesting against “red unificationists” (紅統). The term is used to describe the KMT members who cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party to push a pro-unification agenda in Taiwan.

According to a manifesto blogged on his Facebook page “Alfred Lin’s Revolutionary Life” (林家興的復革人生), Lin has five demands. He calls for a leadership change to integrate broader public opinion and youths, a debate to reposition the KMT’s party principles, and a rethinking of KMT’s cross-strait and international relations narratives.

He also proposes that the party decision-making body should be “broken down and restructured,” in order to review the failure of Han and “the ridiculous system that gave rise to the Han Kuo-yu phenomenon.” He also proposes that the KMT should review its personnel selection system, stating that “young people should remake the KMT, instead of being corrupted by the KMT.”

Alferd Lin has not yet provided a response to requests for comment by Ketagalan Media.

Take down Wu Sz-huai

The KMT party list’s inclusion of several pro-unification figures prior to the election was a major point of contention and alienated younger cohorts of KMT politicians. In the leadup to the election, KMT local legislator candidates often struggled to appeal to voters as they tried not to contradict Han and party lines.

Despite so, high level KMT politicians not running local races have often been caught by the media making sexist remarks. A DPP strategy during the election was to broadcast these reports to target the female demographic group, hurt the chances of KMT’s local candidates disproportionately.

Ideological conflicts are breaking out as many of these KMT nominees blame their defeat on the party central’s pro-Beijing stances and nominations. Retired general Wu Sz-huai, whose appearance at China’s National People’s Congress was widely publicized ahead of the election, will be entering the Legislative Yuan.

Interestingly, several members of the KMT’s “core youth factions” (青壯派) held a press conference the day right after Han’s defeat, demanding Wu Sz-huai to resign. The group include both Han and Simon Chang’s spokesperson.

Retired general Wu appears to be unmoved by the demand, and has started recruiting legislative assistants.

The ambiguous 1992 Consensus

The KMT has also maintained support for the “1992 Consensus,” which states that both sides of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is only one China, but each side has a different interpretation of  “China.” However, Beijing has always emphasized both sides agree there is one China but never allowed for separate interpretations. As Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged Taiwan to cede to PRC rule under the “One Country Two Systems” framework in January 2019, President Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP argued that Beijing’s 1992 Consensus amounted to nothing more than surrender to China.

With the Tsai government pressing to affirm public rejection of “One Country, Two Systems,” the KMT’s room to define the narrative has become increasingly narrow.

Lin Yo-long (林佑龍), a frequent commentator on KMT politics (no relations with Alfred Lin), told Ketagalan Media about the struggle faced by the KMT to redefine its position on relations with China in the context of the “1992 Consensus.”

“In the party, there have always been people putting ‘One China’ (一中) as a priority over ‘different representation’ (各表),” Lin told Ketagalan Media. “And during a debate prior to the 2017 party chair election, attempts to change position on [the 1992 Consensus] were boycotted by the ‘One China’ faction.”

Adding to the mix, former president Ma Ying-jeou remains politically active and influential in the KMT. He has said that the 1992 Consensus remains a “flexible tool” for relations with China, and any new framework had to be acceptable to Beijing.

“Because President Ma’s legacy stands to be questioned [in the case of platform change], former officials will push back against change,” Lin adds.

Signs of reform?

Protests appeared to have made some impact. On January 19th, acting chairperson Lin Jung-te told China Times that he intends to “reform the core power of the party,” promising to include younger generations in “80-90% of elected mayors, magistrates, local, and national legislators.”

Acting secretary-general Tseng Ming-chung also said that the party is considering ways to set up a “reform committee” and “substantially make changes to the composition of the Central Standing Committee.”

The reform committee is expected to include current elected officials, youth representatives, and non-party representatives. “The cross-strait narrative will be an important focus,” said Tseng.

With an election for the party chairman and Central Committee members expecting to be held on March 7th, the KMT as a party may undergo significant shakeup. It’s policy on Beijing and structure as an authoritarian, Leninist party may see significant changes.

(Feature photo from KMT Twitter account)