Chang Ya-chung
Eric Chu Wins KMT Chair Race, With Chang Ya-Chung as Runner-up, Johnny Chiang Distant Third
Former New Taipei mayor and previous party chair Eric Chu was the winner of the KMT chair elections today. Chu was the clear winner, with 83,027 votes, or 45.96% of counted votes, at press time. However, what proves significant is that after Chu, Sun Yat-Sen School head Chang Ya-chung won the second highest number of votes, with 58,980 or 32.65% of votes. After Chang was current chair Johnny Chiang, who was running for re-election, with 33,604 or 18.6% of counted votes, and in last was former Changhua county magistrate Cho Po-yuan, with 5,037 votes, or 2.79%...
Second KMT Chair Debate Sees Sharp Attacks Between Eric Chu, Chang Ya-Chung
The second KMT chair debate, which took place on September 18th, had five rounds. The first round consisted of opening comments, while the second round allowed candidates to field questions from a panel of commentators that they were allowed to choose from. The third round involved questions asked by a panel of media experts, the fourth round allowed for cross-examination between candidates, and the last round consisted of closing comments. The four candidates are current chair Johnny Chiang, former party chair and New Taipei mayor Eric Chu, Sun Yat-Sen School head Chang Ya-chung, and former Changhua magistrate Cho Po-yuan...
Controversy Breaks Out in the KMT Over Offer by Chang Ya-chung to Facilitate a Five Million USD Loan
Chang Ya-chung, the head of the Sun Yat-Sen School, has gotten into an unusual spat with former party chair Hung Hsiu-chu in the last few days. The dispute revolves around claims by Chang that he will facilitate a loan of five million USD to the party in order to alleviate some of the KMT’s financial issues...
KMT Chair Debate Reveals Party’s Ideological Hardening, Fixation on the 1992 Consensus
What emerges from the KMT chair election debate is that the party has failed to take action on the fundamental issues facing the party. This is no different than last year, when Johnny Chiang was elected. What surprises, then, is to what extent there were few ideological differences between any of the candidates and how the general discourse between the candidates gestures toward the shifts in the party over the past year. The general consensus of the party has shifted to become significantly more deep Blue compared to last year...
Are Terry Gou and Chang Ya-chung Attempting to Trick Taiwan Into Purchasing Chinese Vaccines?
It has proven an odd twist that the manufacturing giant FoxConn and Chang Ya-chung, the head of the Sun Yat-Sen School and the pro-unification Chinese Integration Association, have announced plans to purchase vaccines in the past few days. Although FoxConn CEO Terry Gou claims that he intend to purchase German BioNTech vaccines for Taiwan, not Chinese vaccines, BioNTech's past record makes a strong case for skepticism. Chang's actions are further suspicious, as his actions suggest murky links to Shanghai Fosun, in seeking to purchase both BioNTech and Sinopharm vaccines. Sinopharm is 49% owned by Shanghai Fosun, ostensibly BioNtech's Greater China market distributor, as a joint venture with the Chinese government...
Han Kuo-Yu Wins Primary, Will Run as KMT’s Presidential Candidate in 2020
Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu was announced as the winner of the KMT presidential primary today, KMT vice-chair Tseng Yung-chuan making the announcement at a press conference this morning. What should Taiwan expect with Han as the KMT's 2020 presidential candidate?...