TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The KMT legislative caucus drafted lawmaker Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) on Thursday to serve as deputy secretary-general in the next session, while retaining Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) as caucus convener and promoting Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) to secretary-general.
Despite plans to hold elections for caucus positions Thursday, no lawmaker had registered to compete by noon, per UP Media. As a result, the KMT decided to directly appoint Hung as chief deputy secretary-general.
Hung said in an interview that Fu called him to ask him to serve in the caucus until Jan. 31, 2027. Explaining his decision, Hung noted that during the two legislative sessions preceding a general election, caucus positions are customarily filled by at-large legislators.
With KMT Legislative Caucus Secretary-General Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) set to retire from his position Sept. 1, Fu had been seeking a new candidate to serve as chief deputy secretary-general, per NOWNews. A KMT lawmaker who attended an Aug. 14 discussion on candidates for the new caucus position said most lawmakers would need to campaign in their districts during the November local elections, making at-large legislators more likely to take on caucus roles.
A former caucus official said the narrow seat difference between the KMT and DPP, combined with the need to negotiate with the TPP, has increased pressure on caucus officials. Another KMT lawmaker said tensions between Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Fu have made serving in the caucus particularly precarious.
The lawmaker said that “if serving the party might risk being singled out and ridiculed by fellow party members, lawmakers are more inclined to stay away from the role,” per NOWNews. A source within the KMT legislative caucus said that because Fu has never allowed other caucus officials to share power, most KMT lawmakers are reluctant to participate.
During caucus negotiations Aug. 11, Han singled out Lin and asked whether Fu had authorized him to sign official documents for the negotiations, per UDN. Han then criticized Fu for not attending the meeting and not authorizing Lin to act on his behalf.
After the meeting, Lin said decisions are made through the consensus of the three caucus officials or the caucus as a whole, and he was therefore unwilling to claim he had been authorized by Fu, per Z.Media. He added that he understood why Han was in a hurry to advance legislative business and did not blame him for singling him out.
Fu responded by saying his absence was a protest against what he described as the executive branch's ongoing interference with legislative prerogatives, per CNA. He said his respect for Han had prompted him to oppose the Cabinet's refusal to countersign bills passed by the legislature.
