Loose Ships Sink Shits

The People First Party continued to melt away into the KMT as four more lawmakers returned to the fold yesterday.

Four People First Party (PFP) lawmakers yesterday announced their decisions to defect to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), striking another blow against the PFP, which has suffered an exodus of lawmakers and city councilors.

PFP legislators Sun Ta-chien (孫大千), Lee Yong-ping (李永萍), Lin Te-fu (林德福), and PFP Legislative Caucus Convener Chen Chih-pin (陳志彬) issued a joint statement yesterday to announce their decision to leave the party.

While the PFP has repeatedly denied that there will be an exodus of party members from the party, many legislators and Taipei city councilors have quit the party in the aftermath of its poor performance in last month's local government elections.

A previous mainlander spin-off party, the New Party, has all but disappeared, leaving the PFP as the remaining serious spin-off party from the KMT. Now it too is disappearing as its lower level of resources, lack of clear, positive policy, and inability to win elections have their inevitable effects. The PFP is essentially a fief of James Soong, its leader, who split off from the KMT to run against it for President in 2000, and on the same ticket in 2004. It will be interesting to see how Soong reacts to his "party" disappearing out from underneath him. Will he still run for Taipei mayor as promised, just to play spoiler?

[Taiwan] [James Soong] [KMT] [PFP]