LY PRESIDENT WANG JOINS KMT CHAIRMAN RACE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001183

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AIT/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW
SUBJECT: LY PRESIDENT WANG JOINS KMT CHAIRMAN RACE

REF: A. TAIPEI 00632


B. TAIPEI 00997

Classified By: AIT Director Douglas Paal, Reason(s): 1.4 (B/D)


1. (C) Summary: Legislative Yuan (LY) President Wang Jin-pyng
declared his candidacy for the KMT Chairman race on March 17.
Wang's long-expected announcement came a day after the KMT
formally decided to postpone the election date from May 28 to
July 16. Wang's opponent, Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou,
charged that the change was devised to benefit Wang. Wang
denied these allegation to AIT and accused Ma of spreading
rumors. KMT insiders have hinted that Lien Chan prefers Wang
to Ma, and they say that Lien approved the delay both to help
Wang and to enable Lien to visit Beijing in July as KMT
Chairman. End Summary.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President
--------------


2. (SBU) Legislative Yuan (LY) President and KMT Vice
Chairman Wang Jin-pyng declared his candidacy for the KMT
Chairman race at a press conference on March 17, his
sixty-fourth birthday. In his long-expected announcement,
Wang said that he wanted to be KMT Chairman in order to
preserve the Republic of China (ROC); to facilitate KMT
organizational reform; to unify the Pan-Blue alliance; and to
promote cross-Strait exchanges based on the "1992 Consensus"
(the so-called "one China, different interpretations" formula
espoused by the KMT). Wang told the crowd that the only hope
for a Pan-Blue Presidency in 2008 is if the KMT, People First
Party (PFP),and New Party unify behind a single candidate.
Wang said that he is best positioned to facilitate moves
toward a merger of KMT and PFP.

Suspicions of Conspiracy
--------------


3. (C) Wang's press conference came a day after the KMT
Central Standing Committee (CSC),the party's highest
decision making body, decided that the party would hold the
chairman election on July 16, instead of the originally
scheduled May 28 date. According to the newly approved
schedule, the KMT will publish details of the election on May
16, register candidates between May 25 and June 8, and
release the names of the candidates between July 4 and July

8. Ma supporters resisted these changes, charging that the
delay was devised by Chairman Lien Chan to give Wang more
time to mobilize supporters in Southern Taiwan. The Ma and
Wang camps are also locked in a dispute over a proposal to
lift a party rule that prohibits party members who have not
paid their membership fees from voting in the chairman
election. Many Ma supporters charge that Wang is planning to
use his influence over local grass-roots organizations to pay
otherwise inactive KMT members to vote for Wang. Most KMT
officials, however, believe that given the demographic,
especially ethnic, structure of active KMT members, Ma will
win in a fair fight.


4. (C) Despite his public pledge that the chairman election
will not be a personal battle between Ma and himself and that
he will strive for Wang-Ma cooperation for the sake of party
unity, Wang told AIT privately that the KMT is doomed if Ma
wins the chairmanship. Wang dismissed the contention that Ma
had a better track record on reform, proclaiming that the
reforms that he had brought to the LY were better than those
in the Taipei City administration under Ma. Wang denied that
he or his supporters are attempting to tamper with the
election rules in order to give himself the advantage, and he
accused Ma of spreading such rumors. Wang acknowledged to
AIT that if the election were held today, Ma would win.
However, in a few more months, Wang said he was confident
that his organizational skills would tip the balance in his
favor. Wang dismissed media reports that he and Ma talk
regularly in order to maintain good relations. Wang said
flatly, "we do not talk."

"Layers of Truth"
--------------


5. (C) KMT Spokesperson Cheng Li-wen told AIT on March 16
that there was actually a specific, non election-related
reason for the postponement of the chairman election. Cheng
said that Lien Chan wants to lead a delegation to Beijing in
July to discuss cross-Strait relations, and that he wants to
go as KMT Chairman. KMT/New Party Legislator Joanna Lei
(Chien) confirmed to AIT that Lien's proposed PRC visit was
one reason for the election delay. Lei told AIT that New
Party Chairman Yok Mu-Ming has been laying the groundwork for
Lien's proposed visit and that it was Yok who urged Lien to
delay the chairman election. Lei, however, pointed out that
there are always "layers of truth" in politics, and that
Lien's desire to slant the election in Wang's favor was also
an instrumental factor. She said that there was a confluence
of interests.


6. (C) In contrast to Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's matter
of fact "I'll give it a try" pronouncement to a small group
of journalists on February 14, Wang organized a lively event
in a Taipei Sheraton Hotel banquet hall with life-size
photos, music, lights, and legions of supporters. In
addition to Wang's wife, who rarely makes public appearances,
and relatives from Kaohsiung, thirty KMT LY members flanked
Wang on stage, while another thirty plus sat in the audience.
In addition to KMT Legislators John Chiang Hsiao-yen
(recently changed from Chang),Joanna Lei, and Lee
Chuan-chiao, legislators from other parties, including PFP
Legislator Chiu Yi and Nonpartisan Solidarity Union Yen
Ching-piao, also attended. Lei told AIT that she attended to
support the "democratic process." Chiang told AIT that he
attended because Wang is the Legislative Speaker, and that he
would attend a Ma event if Ma invited him.

Comment: Evening the Odds
--------------


7. (C) The energy and excitement that Wang's supporters
brought to the banquet hall of the Sheraton Hotel is the
direct result of Wang's superior interpersonal skills.
During successive LY election campaigns, Wang traveled the
island, attending weddings, funerals, grand openings, and
groundbreakings. He also helped LY candidates by providing
financial resources and rallying votes. Ma might be
charismatic and telegenic, but in person, he is aloof and
distance. In contrast, in ward boss fashion, Wang will
drink, smoke, and play mahjong with his supporters. Despite
Wang's organizational skills and close relationship with the
professional politicians, Pan-Blue insiders continue to
admit, and opinion polls show, that Ma is the preferred
Pan-Blue presidential candidate for 2008. In order to be the
candidate in 2008, however, most observers believe Ma must
first win the chairmanship. Even before the start of the
race, Ma supporters fear that Wang's skills at party
organization will allow him to manipulate the rules to his
advantage. These fears appear to be materializing, with the
party's decision to postpone the election date likely to be
the first shot in what will undoubtedly be a divisive, and
less-than-transparent, election process.
PAAL