TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Veteran media figure He Chi-sheng (何啟聖) on Friday criticized the Kuomintang’s Hualien County branch for excluding him from the party’s primary for the 2026 county magistrate election.

KMT Hualien County branch Chair Lu Hsin-jung (盧新榮) said Thursday that He would be barred from the primary because neither his party membership registration nor household registration is in Hualien, per CNA. Lu said the primary would instead proceed with former Hualien City Mayor Yeh Yao-hui (葉耀輝) and Jian Township Mayor You Shu-zhen (游淑貞) as the two candidates, with the selection to be decided through a public opinion survey.

He, an office director for Sun Yat-sun School President Chang Ya-chung (張亞中), criticized the decision, saying KMT rules do not require a candidate’s party membership or household registration to be in the constituency, per Knews. He cited Taoyuan Mayor Chang San-cheng (張善政), who joined the KMT before being nominated as the party’s mayoral candidate, as an example.

He said he regretted not visiting Lu in person earlier to express his intention to take part in the primary but criticized the branch for failing to contact him by phone or other means to confirm his plans. He said he plans to meet Lu in person on Saturday to clarify the matter.

Chang Ya-chung also criticized the decision, saying it undermines the KMT’s core principle of fair and consistent rules, per Newtalk. He said Hualien should not be treated as the personal domain of any individual or faction and warned that the party must not become a tool for entrenched family interests.

Chang said the Sun Yat-sen School rejects the county branch’s decision and is awaiting a response from the KMT’s central leadership.

In announcing his intention to run in the Hualien primary, He sharply criticized KMT caucus leader Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) and his wife, incumbent Hualien County Magistrate Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚), accusing them of alternating control over the county for 23 years, per Mirror Media. He said such dominance mocks the KMT’s claims of reform and harms Taiwan’s democratic development.

He also cited Fu’s past controversies, including bribery allegations related to a KMT central committee election and prison sentences for insider trading, arguing that meaningful party reform is impossible as long as Fu retains influence within the KMT. He called on the party to hold an open and fair primary in Hualien rather than serving the interests of specific individuals.

Asked about He’s exclusion from the primary, Fu coughed but did not respond, per SETN.