The China Post news staff
Voters will go to the polls to elect a new president on March 22 next year. Speaking at a campaign rally at Taoyuan, Hsieh said the Kuomintang would be split in case its standard bearer Ma Ying-jeou lost the election.
Wang Jin-pyng, president of the Legislative Yuan, would bolt the Kuomintang and form a third force with the support of native-born lawmakers of the Kuomintang, Hsieh said.
Independents are likely to join, the DPP candidate added.
"There can be no third force," said Wang, a former Kuomintang vice chairman.
He told a campaign rally at Tainan the Kuomintang won't be split. "Win or lose," Wang said, "the Kuomintang sticks together." Wang heads the Kuomintang list of candidates for election as lawmakers at large. Ma Ying-jeou said his DPP rival was "talking through the hat."
When asked for comment at Fengshan, Ma said Wang has already told Hsieh there will never emerge a splinter party. "That's enough to prove Hsieh was talking through the hat," he pointed out.
What's Hsieh's aim?
He wants to drive a wedge into the Kuomintang ranks, Ma suggested. The Kuomintang has been split twice before.
Yok Mu-ming and a few other Kuomintang lawmakers bolted to form the New Party in 1993.
James Soong bolted the Kuomintang to run for president in 2000. He founded the People First Party shortly after his loss in the presidential election.
The second split of the Kuomintang made it possible for Chen Shui-bian to win a plurality of votes to be elected president and succeed Lee Teng-hui.