Chung-li Wu , "The Transformation of the Kuomintang's Candidate Selection System," Party Politics, 7 (January 2001), 103-118.

First Paragraph:
"The nominating process . . . has become the crucial process of the party. The nature of the nominating procedure determines the nature of the party; he who can make the nominations is the owner of the party. This is therefore one of the best points at which to observe the distribution of power within the party." (Schattschneider, 1942: 64) Any governing party must achieve two rudimentary tasks: effective policies and electoral majorities (Gibson, 1997). Candidate selection, therefore, represents the key linkage between the policy-making and the electorate. Through candidate selection, political parties determine the ruling personnel, influence policy decisions, represent their constituents, are held accountable for their actions, and, consequently, win elections (Crony, 1968; Crotty and Jackson, 1985; Jackson and Crotty, 1996). Although the candidate selection process is important, it has received little attention from a comparative perspective. The nomination practice in only a few western countries has been researched empirically (Eulau and Czudowski, 1976; Fairlie, 1976; Gallagher and Marsh, 1988; Obler, 1973; Williams, 1981). At the same time, systematic analyses of candidate recruitment in developing countries remain scarce.

Figures and Tables:
Table 1: Elections in Taiwan and the KMT Candidate Selection Systems, 1950-2000 p. 106-107
Table 2: KMT Nominations System and Election Results of the Legislative Yuan, 1969-98 p. 112
Table 3: KMT Nominating Systems and Election Results of Taiwan Provincial Assembly, 1951-94 p. 114
Table 4: KMT Nominating Systems and Election Results of County Magistrates and City Mayors, 1950-97 p. 115

Last Paragraph:
What will change about the KNIT candidate selection system? To be sure, there is potential for further change. Although the prospects are still far from certain, the future of the candidate selection system should depend on two fundamental questions: will the pace of interparty electoral competition accelerate, and will the intraparty conflict between aspirants escalate? At this point, the KNIT appears likely to further decentralize its candidate selection practice to win a respectable majority of the votes, or to solve the power struggle within the party in a manner of fairness.