Soong campaign team working on forming new party

Campaign officials for defeated independent presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday confirmed plans to form a new political party, which will be called the "New Taiwanese People's Party" (新台灣人民黨).

It is still unknown exactly when the party -- which Soong's officials said would be a "democratic and non-Leninist" party -- will be formally established.

But it will prepare to contest National Assembly elections in May if they occur, said Soong's vice presidential running mate Chang Chao-hsiung (張昭雄). Candidates would be chosen by recommendation by core members of Soong's campaign group, the New Taiwanese Service Team (新台灣人服務團隊), said Chang.

The Grand Council of Justices are reportedly set to announce tomorrow that a decision by the National Assembly last year to extend its current term for another two years is unconstitutional. Reports have said such a decision could force elections in May, as had been scheduled before the extension was made.

During a visit to Kinmen to thank his voters there, Soong said he hoped the newly-formed party would be a "political charity group," a volunteer's group serving the people.

He said the party could not be "New Party-ized," that is, drawn along ethnic lines.

"If the party is filled with old faces, I would rather not join," he said.

Soong told reporters on Kinmen that there were three main criteria in forming the party.

"It cannot be an individual's party," he said, adding it would not give the public an impression that it intended to make a grab for the assets and chairmanship of the KMT.

Soong said that during the election, the people who supported him had demonstrated a solidarity among different ethnic groups and regions who had once been indifferent to or disappointed with politics.

"Therefore, if the new party could not extend this, but takes the old path of a Leninist party, it would be meaningless," he said.

Sources said former legislative speaker Liu Sung-fan (劉松藩) and other pro-Soong lawmakers were the main forces pushing the new political body.

Pro-Soong legislators Chen Cheng-sheng (陳振盛) and Chou Hsi-wei (周錫偉) yesterday said several KMT lawmakers had contacted Soong officials about forming a new party.

Although leadership of the New Party has announced that it would cooperate with the new entity -- some New Party elected representatives said a flood of defectors from their party to Soong's would be "hard to prevent."

New Party legislator Hao Lung-ping (郝龍斌) said yesterday that the party would cooperate with, but not be combined with Soong's party.

According to Chang, the party's chairman will be directly elected by its members. He said an initial meeting would be convened to elect a temporary chairman for the NTPP.

According to sources, Soong will be selected as the acting chairman.