Lee denies plan to abandon Lien in favor of Chen

President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday clarified his stance on next Saturday's presidential election, saying that he will naturally support KMT candidate Lien Chan (連戰) and that the so-called "abandon Lien to save Chen" card is merely a campaign plot concocted by some conspirators.

Some political observers have said that the KMT might abandon Lien in order to get DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) elected over independent candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜), if Lien's chances look slim on election day eve.

"The KMT does not plan to play the `abandon and save' game. The KMT only supports its official Lien-Siew ticket," Lee said during a trip aimed at boosting Lien's momentum in southern Taiwan. Lee also serves as chairman of the KMT.

Speaking to a group of KMT officials in Pingtung County, Lee specifically pointed out that "some people said Lee Teng-hui has given secret support to [Chen], they even spread the rumor of `abandon someone to save another;' I want to appeal to all the audience to avoid this kind of trap."

"Such a groundless rumor was meant to make us lose our confidence," Lee said, referring to a rumor making the rounds that Lee might give up Lien to save Chen if Lien trails behind in the polls on the eve of election day.

The so-called "abandon and save" effect is also called "strategic voting," in which voters make a second-best choice to prevent their least-liked candidate from being elected when they think their favorite candidate is not going to win.

A day after the president of Academia Sinica Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) said he would join Chen's advisory team for national policy, if Chen becomes president, President Lee headed south to try to put the rumors to rest.

"Some people like to take advantage of my friends and make capital out of my personal influence to win over voters. I am saying to you today that there is no so-called `abandon so-and-so to save another,'" Lee said. "Sometimes, I even hoped to convince certain people to withdraw from the upcoming election and spend some time learning some lessons from me."

Lee then attacked Soong, saying that ever since Soong and his [gang] left the KMT, the party has no longer been a nest for "black gold" politics.

"As a result of Soong's leaving the party, the `black gold' politics within the KMT has almost been cleaned up," Lee said. "The KMT is too clean to keep those kind of garbage-eating fish alive, therefore, [Soong's camp] quit the KMT in an effort to establish a so-called `non-partisan' politics."

"It was horrible to witness that Soong had spent around NT$500 billion during his tenure as Provincial Governor for over five years. Because of that, now it will cost [the public] three months of wages to repay the debt," Lee said.

Lee told his audience "to see clearly before you make a move and don't ever be fooled by [Soong's] appearance."

While Lee said it may be a bit unusual to see an outgoing president sparing no efforts in boosting a political heir's election chances, he said his motivation was based on national interest rather than securing his place in history.

"Acting in my capacity as president over the past 12 years, my first priority has been to make Taiwan a better place in the face of China's imminent threat," Lee said. "China now is staring down at Taiwan, waiting for the right time to take Taiwan into its pocket. But China's biggest obstacle is Lee Teng-hui, myself. The Chinese leaders are afraid of seeing me, because I know exactly what's on their minds and where their limitations are. Under the circumstances, they said that they would wait until a new Taiwanese leader emerges from the March 18 election to open the negotiating door."

Lee also said that he served as the mentor for Lien's cross-strait policy.

"Lien's cross-strait policy received its basic instructions from me," Lee said. "It doesn't matter if China launches a missile threat or tries to generate a negative impact on Taiwan's stock market, [Lien and I] have already prepared a solution for those scenarios."