KMT Members Call on Party Chair To Resign After Election Defeat

Members of the Kuomintang are calling for the chairperson to step down after their party's candidate failed to win Taiwan's presidency.

Transcript

00:00 Infighting has begun at the Kuomintang with calls for the party's chairman to step down

00:05 after Taiwan's oldest political party failed to reclaim the country's top seat of power

00:09 in Saturday's elections.

00:11 The opposition Kuomintang's presidential candidate Hou Youyi lost to ruling Democratic

00:15 Progressive Party candidate Lai Ching-te, giving the DPP an unprecedented third term

00:20 in office.

00:21 The KMT's chair typically resigns if their candidate does not win in elections.

00:26 And many in the party may have reason to blame chairman Eric Zhu for their loss.

00:30 He had handpicked Hou as their candidate, forgoing the usual party primary.

00:34 And one member of the Central Standing Committee had this to say.

00:37 But Zhu's supporters point to the party's gains in the legislature, although not a majority,

01:03 as a sign to keep him at the top.

01:06 The KMT has been criticized for being out of touch with its constituents and has been

01:10 undergoing a period of reform, which will surely continue in the coming years as they

01:14 vie for the next presidency.

01:16 But whether that's under new leadership is the big question.

01:20 Joseph Wu and Tiffany Wong in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

01:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]