Word: kmt
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...After imposing 38 years of martial law and brutally repressing political activists who later became the core of the now-ruling DPP, the KMT introduced democratic reforms in the 1990s. But Taiwanese used their new freedoms to demand bentuhua, which translates as "localization." Bentuhua means politicians bear Taiwanese lineage, speak the Taiwanese dialect, emphasize Taiwan's history in schools and promote Taiwanese culture. For many, bentuhua also means independence, or at least permanent separation from China. The KMT, which still draws heavily on support from mainlanders, can't please everybody. Says KMT adviser Wu Tung-yeh: "The old-line faction...
...They've fallen out before. Three times in the past 15 years, KMT leaders have split to form their own parties. One renegade, mainland-born James Soong, now leads the PFP. A fiery speaker, Soong carried with him many of the KMT's mainland-born legislators. Since making an uneasy peace with Lien and running as his vice-presidential candidate, Soong has turned the postelection fracas to his advantage. KMT insiders insist he pressured Lien to dispute the election results on the night of March 20, and Soong's followers dominated the stage in massive demonstrations that followed. Protests that...
...contests reward discipline. Parties must allocate votes among many candidates in the same district; failure can mean losing seats despite winning the most votes. Most united these days is the DPP, which works well with its ally, a party formed by former President Lee Teng-hui, who quit the KMT in 2000 and now supports independence. The DPP expects to win over alienated voters from the KMT's bentuhua side who are disturbed by their party's histrionic reaction to the election. "The biggest beneficiary of the election fiasco will be the DPP," predicts Tuan Yi-kang, a DPP legislator...
...prevent such a defeat, the KMT will emphasize its recent transformation. Following its shocking loss to Chen in 2000, the party revamped its Leninist-style structure and replaced it with a system of primary elections for candidates and intraparty elections for senior party positions. It barred candidates tainted by accusations of corruption or who amassed "black-gold" fortunes through Mafia connections. Most important, it promoted a younger generation of stalwarts, especially three comers known by their collective nickname Ma-Li-Chiang, or "strong horsepower": Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou, Taoyuan county magistrate Chu Li-lun and Taichung mayor Jason...
...cool head in hot times, but irked party leaders intent on unity. Ma remains Lien's heir apparent for party chairman but suffers from the same problem as the rest of the trio. "Ma is out of the picture" as a future presidential candidate, says a former KMT Cabinet minister, because "he's not a native Taiwanese...