TAIPEI: The newly appointed secretary-general of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), King Pu-tsung, will assume office tomorrow, with the top priority of his new assignment described as the management of the party's property, a party official said yesterday.

The official declined to reveal King's schedule before the KMT Central Standing Committee's regular Wednesday meeting. King has been a visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, DC-based think tank, for the past few months.

Chan Chun-po, who will be relieved of his role as party secretary-general while retaining his position as vice chairman, said at a regular working meeting at the KMT's headquarters that, in order to enable the new secretary-general to become familiar with party functions, the various departments will give briefings before the end of December.

These include the organization and development committee, the policy committee, the party disciplinary committee and the cultural and communications committee, as well as the "National Development Institute".

King is expected to dedicate much of his efforts to campaigns in the coming year for a series of elections - by-elections of legislators set for January 9 and February 27, elections of speakers of county and city councils, and the mayoral elections of special municipalities in December.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 12/15/2009 page2)