President and ruling Kuomintang Chairman Ma Ying-jeou’s appointment of his most trusted ally King Pu-tsung as the party’s new secretary-general has drawn mixed reactions in the KMT ranks and wider society. While some party insiders believe King’s close relationship with Ma will facilitate party reform, others have expressed doubts about his ability to fill that role.

The following is a digest of some local media reports on the issue:

United Daily:

Ma’s appointment Wednesday of former Taipei Deputy Mayor King Pu-tsung to serve as the KMT’s new secretary-general has taken the KMT hierarchy and the rest of the Taiwan political arena by surprise.

King, who is now a visiting scholar at the U.S. think tank Brookings Institution, will take over from Chan Chuen-po, one of the KMT’s vice chairmen, as manager of the party’s day-to-day affairs. Chan will retain his position as vice chairman.

“This arrangement will shape a new iron triangle in our endeavor to accelerate party reforms,” Ma said at a weekly party meeting. (Dec.10, 2009)

China Times:

King, nicknamed by local political observers as “King stylet” and Ma’s right-hand man during his tenure as Taipei mayor, demonstrated his expertise as a campaigner and publicity guru in a number of important elections that involved Ma.

Ma is now seen drawing on King’s agility to bolster and accelerate efforts to revive the KMT monolith. (Dec.10, 2009)

Liberty Times:

The surprise appointment is bound to trigger opposition within the KMT ranks as well as at the level of grassroots party workers.

As a top party manager, the KMT secretary-general must be acutely tuned to the party’s grassroots and must have finely honed skills to navigate the country’s political environment.

“The top manager will lead the party to a dead end if he makes judgments simply on the basis of charts and figures that he reads at the office,” some senior KMT party officials said. (Dec. 10, 2009) (By Deborah Kuo)

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