By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, May 11, 2009, Page 3
The fallout from Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman
Chiang Pin-kung’s (江丙坤)
attempt to resign was the beginning of another power
struggle within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) as
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九)
seeks to take full control of the party, analysts said.
Chiang tendered his resignation on Monday following
accusations against his and his sons’ business ties in
China. Speculation was rife that the attacks targeting
Chiang came from the KMT and that Ma wanted KMT Chairman Wu
Po-hsiung (吳伯雄)
to take over Chiang’s position so Ma could take the party
chairmanship.
Chiang offered his resignation in what was seen as an
attempt to force Ma to make clear his intention to take over
the chairmanship earlier than planned.
Chiang’s move prompted Ma to visit him at the SEF on Friday
to dissuade him from stepping down, but analysts said this
was a temporary setback and that Ma’s plan to grab power
from the KMT old guard would continue.
“It’s a process of centralization of power for Ma. He is
feeling insecure and he wants to take full control of the
legislature and cross-strait affairs,” said Wang Kun-yi (王崑義),
a professor at National Taiwan Ocean University.
Ma sought the assistance of the KMT old guard when he came
into office last year and relied on their expertise in
various areas to help get his administration on track.
However, old guard members are also a burden for Ma, Wang
said.
Chiang, Wu and former KMT chairman Lien Chan’s (連戰)
close ties with China have made it more difficult for the Ma
administration to resolve a number of problems in
cross-strait relations and take full control of cross-strait
issues, he said.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is the official
government agency that handles cross-strait affairs, but the
SEF, a semi-government organization, is in charge of
substantive cross-strait negotiations.
The KMT, on the other hand, has its own communication
channel with China. The platform between the KMT and the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — established when Lien
visited Beijing in 2005 — continued after the government
authorized the SEF to launch cross-strait negotiations with
the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.
Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒),
a political commentator at National Dong Hwa University,
said Chiang and Wu had Beijing’s support and that it would
be a great challenge for Ma to get rid of them.
The power struggle within the KMT has always been a delicate
matter, but ultimately Ma’s people will take over all the
major positions, Shih said. The old guard will resist, but
Ma will win the battle because he has all the resources,
Shih said.
Political analyst Wang Yeh-lih (王業立)
of National Taiwan University said Ma should consider
revising the Constitution and ponder relations between the
Presidential Office, the Cabinet and the legislature
because, on its own, taking over the party chairmanship
would not solve the problem.
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