TAIPEI, Dec. 13 -- Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang expelled two of its senior members Wednesday, the latest in a string of events that signal a serious split in the party. Supporters of former judicial branchchief Lin Yang-kang and former Premier Hau Pei-tsun clashed with another group of demonstrators calling for the expulsion of both Lin and Hau outside party headquarters.
Several injuries occured. Lin and Hau effectively declared an inter-party war against the so- called mainstream faction of the KMT by campaigning for opposition New Party candidates in a Dec. 2 legislative election. Lin and Hau have also announce they will run against party chairman President Lee Teng-hui in the island's first direct presidential election in March. 'Without a system of discipline, there would be no way to control the actions of party members,' KMT spokesman Hansen Chien said. The KMT began hemorraging talented members two years ago, as many younger members disenchanted with Lee's leadership left to form the neo- conservative New Party, which calls for closer ties with mainland China. The New Party tripled its presence in the legislature Dec. 2 after a campaign that accused Lee's KMT of secretly steering Taiwan on a course of formal secession from China, a move Beijing said would amount to a declaration of war. 'We have to examine why so many people do not support the party,' former Premier Li Huan said. Li, a member of the KMT central standing committee member, has a son and a daughter who left the KMT to join the New Party.
