WASHINGTON DC: Former Taipei Deputy Mayor King Pu-tsung, widely known as Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou's right-hand man during Ma's tenure as Taipei mayor, will rush back to Taipei to take up his surprise appointment as secretary-general of the ruling Kuomintang.

Commenting on the mixed reactions within the KMT to his appointment, King told the Central News Agency Wednesday that he too was taken by surprise by the appointment, but that he would make every effort to prove the skeptics wrong.

"I will speak less and do more in the future and give the job my best shot," said King, who is currently a visiting scholar at the US think tank, the Brookings Institution.

He appealed to the KMT hierarchy and the wider Taiwan society to give him time to do his best to streamline the ruling party.

It is widely believed that Ma's appointment of King to the management post was a response to the KMT's setback in the just-concluded local elections.

King declined to comment on the KMT's performance in the elections, saying that it will take some time for him to gain a better understanding of the current situation and be able to comment on the party's prospects and campaign strategies in future elections.

Meanwhile, King said he will return to Taipei as soon as possible but will need to wrap up some routine matters before he leaves.

On his research experience in DC, King said he has learned a lot at the Brookings Institution over the past several months.

He said he is now better versed in international affairs and hopes that he may help push for closer contact between Taiwan and the rest of the world and greater representation of Taiwan in global organizations.

"One of the priorities of my new job might be to promote party-to-party diplomacy," he added.

King, who started his research at Brookings in September this year, was scheduled to finish in January 2010.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 12/11/2009 page2)