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2021 Kuomintang chairmanship election

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2021 Kuomintang chairmanship election
← 2020 25 September 2021 2025 →
Turnout50.71% （Increase14.86%）
 
Nominee Eric Chu Chang Ya-chung
Popular vote 85,163 60,631
Percentage 45.78% 32.59%
 
Nominee Johnny Chiang Cho Po-yuan
Popular vote 35,093 5,133
Percentage 18.87% 2.76%
  County level units won by Eric Chu.  County level units won by Chang Ya-chung.  County level units won by Johnny Chiang.
Chairman before election

Johnny Chiang

 Elected Chairman

Eric Chu

The 2021 Kuomintang chairmanship election (Chinese: 2021年中國國民黨主席選舉) was scheduled to be held in July 2021. It was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and eventually rescheduled for 25 September 2021. It was the tenth direct election of the party leader in Kuomintang (KMT) history. All registered, due-paying KMT party members were eligible to vote.

Candidates

Jaw Shaw-kong applied to renew his Kuomintang party membership in February 2021, and expressed interest in contesting the party leadership. In response, the National Communications Commission noted that the Broadcasting Corporation of China could be fined under Article 5-1 of the Radio and Television Act [zh] if Jaw simultaneously held leadership positions in a political party and a radio or television media enterprise. After formally attaining party membership, Jaw reiterated that he would run for the chairmanship. As candidates for the party chairmanship must have served on the Kuomintang's Central Committee [zh] or Central Advisory Committee, the KMT announced that a proposal to appoint Jaw to the Central Advisory Committee would be considered during the 21st National Congress. Jaw decided not to run for the party leadership on 28 April 2021.

On 20 February 2021, incumbent chair Johnny Chiang stated that he would run for a full term as party leader.

Cho Po-yuan announced his campaign for the party leadership on 11 July 2021.

On 2 August 2021, Eric Chu stated that he would seek the Kuomintang chairmanship, a position he had previously held from 2015 to 2016. Chu promised to reestablish a polling department within the party if he were reelected chairman.

Election scheduling and candidate registration

The chairmanship election was scheduled for 24 July 2021, and was to be held alongside delegate elections for the Kuomintang's 21st National Congress. Registration of eligible candidates was to take place on 3 or 4 June, and completed registration forms were to be received on either 7 or 8 June. Candidacy processing fees were charged for the first time during the 2021 leadership election; each campaign was expected to pay a total of NT$13.2 million. Following a meeting of the KMT's Central Standing Committee on 26 May 2021, committee members decided to postpone the leadership election due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. During an in-person meeting on 28 July 2021, the Central Standing Committee decided to reschedule the chairmanship election for 25 September 2021. Registration forms were available to eligible candidates on 12 and 13 August. The two-day period to accept completed forms was extended to 16 or 17 August.

Eric Chu registered his candidacy on 16 August, and afterwards, outlined several goals for the party leader: empower the Kuomintang legislative caucus, expand international and Cross-Strait outreach, focus on younger party members, and win both the 2022 local and 2024 presidential elections. Johnny Chiang, Chang Ya-chung, and Cho Po-yuan registered their candidacies the next day. Chiang described a number of his objectives and vowed to step down if any one was not met. Chiang promised to build intraparty consensus and improve communication between its members. He sought passage of the questions proposed by the Kuomintang in the 2021 Taiwanese referendum, to win a total of fifteen mayoral or magisterial seats in the 2022 local elections, and claim a legislative majority in the 2024 Taiwanese legislative election, led by the selection of "star" candidates on the Kuomintang party list. As a "kingmaker," Chiang committed to helping the party choose its presidential candidate. Regarding Cross-Strait relations, Chiang suggested convening a committee to advise the party on the topic, as well as naming a representative of the party to promote relations.

Debates

A televised debate between the four candidates took place on 4 September. Chiang again stressed his role as a kingmaker during the presidential election, stating that he would not run for the post himself. He regarded the maintenance of peace and safety as vital to Cross-Strait relations, and said that the Kuomintang needed to offer more opportunities to its younger members. In his remarks, Chu expressed the belief that the elected chairman must focus on consolidation of party strengths against the Democratic Progressive Party. To Chu, the kingmaker role would be served by a stronger KMT. Chu commented that the party must participate in Cross-Strait interactions, and focus on social exchanges with China, to show the public the party's commitment to peace, prosperity and safety. He also vowed to create opportunities for younger party members. Chang criticized Chiang and Chu for making intangible and empty promises. Chang's main goal was to sign a peace treaty with Beijing, if the Kuomintang won a legislative majority in 2024. Chang also advocated for an China-based office to be established, in order to help Taiwanese expatriates in China. Cho felt that young Kuomintang members deserved attention and respect from a selfless and professional party leader, and stated that, if elected, he would invite Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping to Taiwan for a summit on Cross-Strait relations. A group of Taiwan independence activists led by the Taiwan Republic Office gathered outside the TVBS Media building, where the debate was held, in protest, shouting slogans at each of the four chairperson candidates. Chang responded to the protesters by giving a thumbs-down sign.

On 13 September, the Kuomintang's Central Election Supervision Committee referred Chang to the party's Central Evaluation and Disciplinary Committee, reasoning that Chang had made multiple verbal attacks on Chu during the campaign. Both Chiang and Chu opposed the election committee's decision, and a proposal to rescind the action, initiated by Chang's committee representative Chen Ming-yi, was passed two days later.

A livestreamed debate on party policy was held at China Television studios on 17 September, during which the 1992 Consensus was a primary topic. Chiang stated that the "original definition of the consensus" should be restored, and that objections to the consensus itself had been reduced because the Democratic Progressive Party was unable to manage Cross-Strait relations. Cho was also critical of the DPP, believing that strained relations were due to the DPP abandonment of the consensus. In turn, Chu said that, during a 2015 meeting with Xi Jinping, he had emphasized his position that the consensus allowed Taiwan and China to have different interpretations of the term "One-China." Chu backed the "creative ambiguity" of the consensus. Chang opined that the consensus was one of the Kuomintang's guiding principles, but that he would seek to negotiate a memorandum of understanding for peace with the Chinese Communist Party. Chu objected to Chang, expressing concern that Chang's actions would rapidly unify China and Taiwan.

Election

Polls were open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 25 September 2021. Eric Chu received 85,164 of 187,999 votes cast, finishing ahead of Chang Ya-chung (60,632 votes), Johnny Chiang (35,090 votes), and Cho Po-yuan (5,133 votes). Voter turnout was 50.71 percent. The election results were confirmed by the Kuomintang's Central Standing Committee on 29 September. Although Central Standing Committee member Lin Chin-chieh suggested that Chu take office as soon as possible, the committee voted for Chu to assume the chairmanship on 5 October 2021. Chu was duly inaugurated as chairman on that date.

Reactions

In his capacity as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping wrote a letter congratulating Eric Chu on winning the Kuomintang chairmanship. The message referred to the 1992 Consensus, and expressed hope for Cross-Strait peace, unification, and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Chu's response to Xi acknowledged that peace had been kept due to recognition of the consensus between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party in the past, unlike the Democratic Progressive Party's "anti-China" policies and actions promoting "desinicization." Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council described Chu's reply to Xi as "cater to the CCP while ignoring the facts." The Democratic Progressive Party criticized Chu's acknowledgement of Xi, stating that no party leader in a democracy would expect commendation from autocratic government leaders elsewhere.

Opinion polling

Date Pollster Sample size Chang Ya-chung Johnny Chiang Cho Po-yuan Eric Chu
9–13 September 2021 TVBS 1,257 30.6 12.8 0.9 27.5
22–23 September 2021 Trend Survey 818 28.4 18.0 1.8 29.3

Results

Results of the 2021 Kuomintang chairmanship election
No. Candidate Votes %
1 Johnny Chiang 35,093 18.87%
2 Cho Po-yuan 5,133 2.76%
3 Chang Ya-chung 60,631 32.59%
4 Eric Chu 85,163 45.78%
Eligible voters 370,711
Total votes 188,000
Valid votes 186,020
Invalid votes 1,980
Turnout 50.71%
Results by administrative area
Subdivision Eligible Voters Total Votes Turnout Valid Votes Invalid Votes Johnny Chiang Cho Po-yuan Chang Ya-chung Eric Chu
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Taipei City 45,202 17,386 38.46% 17,254 132 2,054 11.90% 234 1.36% 7,355 42.63% 7,611 44.11%
New Taipei City 41,483 19,693 47.47% 19,522 171 2,712 13.89% 239 1.22% 6,987 35.79% 9,584 49.09%
Keelung City 6,305 2,427 38.49% 2,402 25 363 15.11% 27 1.12% 872 36.30% 1,140 47.46%
Yilan County 6,897 3,594 52.11% 3,567 27 533 14.94% 54 1.51% 1,055 29.58% 1,925 53.97%
Taoyuan City 26,266 12,625 48.07% 12,522 103 1,229 9.81% 143 1.14% 4,801 38.34% 6,349 50.70%
Hsinchu County 9,085 5,771 63.52% 5,712 59 749 13.11% 82 1.44% 1,730 30.29% 3,151 55.16%
Hsinchu City 8,561 3,636 42.47% 3,600 36 623 17.31% 58 1.61% 1,548 43.00% 1,371 38.08%
Miaoli County 11,185 7,231 64.65% 7,140 91 1,365 19.12% 102 1.43% 2,044 28.63% 3,629 50.83%
Taichung City 31,814 18,592 58.44% 18,377 215 8,162 44.41% 332 1.81% 5,230 28.46% 4,653 25.32%
Changhua County 20,802 13,060 62.78% 12,902 158 2,664 20.65% 2,387 18.50% 2,656 20.59% 5,195 40.27%
Nantou County 9,322 5,018 53.83% 4,970 48 1,144 23.02% 145 2.92% 1,468 29.54% 2,213 44.53%
Yunlin County 9,970 6,493 65.13% 6,420 73 801 12.48% 113 1.76% 1,185 18.46% 4,321 67.31%
Chiayi County 7,619 3,428 44.99% 3,401 27 550 16.17% 86 2.53% 843 24.79% 1,922 56.51%
Chiayi City 6,224 2,361 37.93% 2,331 30 390 16.73% 48 2.06% 888 38.10% 1,005 43.11%
Tainan City 25,471 12,543 49.24% 12,409 134 1,965 15.84% 245 1.97% 3,593 28.95% 6,607 53.24%
Kaohsiung City 45,799 24,260 52.97% 23,963 297 4,345 18.13% 405 1.69% 9,221 38.48% 9,992 41.70%
Pingtung County 20,813 12,908 62.02% 12,737 171 1,810 14.21% 179 1.41% 3,408 26.76% 7,340 57.63%
Hualien County 10,594 6,524 61.58% 6,454 70 1,420 22.00% 76 1.18% 1,994 30.90% 2,964 45.93%
Taitung County 7,897 3,875 49.07% 3,839 36 513 13.36% 70 1.82% 1,343 34.98% 1,913 49.83%
Penghu County 3,718 1,752 47.12% 1,711 41 333 19.46% 44 2.57% 457 26.71% 877 51.26%
Kinmen County 3,433 1,871 54.50% 1,866 5 276 14.79% 27 1.45% 824 44.16% 739 39.60%
Lienchiang County 799 458 57.32% 453 5 83 18.32% 7 1.55% 155 34.22% 208 45.92%
Overseas 11,452 2,493 21.77% 2,467 26 1,009 40.90% 30 1.22% 974 39.48% 454 18.40%

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Notes: Acting leaders italicised ; By-elections denoted with (b)
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