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Lien pushes for meeting on economy

In an effort to appear relevant before the year-end elections, the KMT plans to initiate inter-party talks to come up with the legislation necessary to implement proposals made by the Economic Development Advisory Conference.

The conference, which gets underway Friday, is expected to put forth economic proposals such as the elimination of the "no haste, be patient" policy toward China. Some of the measures will need the imprimatur of the legislature before they can be implemented.

KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said yesterday that the party would initiate the inter-party negotiations after the conference concludes.

He said that because the KMT holds the most seats in the legislature, the party has the responsibility to initiate negotiations that would lead to the passage of the conference's proposals.

"With our status as the largest party, we will initiate inter-party negotiations to unite all political parties, both ruling and opposition, to do our best to implement the conference's conclusions," Lien said.

The KMT chairman put forth his proposal after meeting with the party's representatives to the Economic Development Advisory Conference.

In response, representatives from the nation's other major political parties said they welcomed Lien's gesture and were willing to participate in the discussions.

Because the point of the economic conference is to build a consensus among its participants -- which is made of representatives of all political stripes -- few are willing to appear uncooperative or unsupportive of the group's proposals, especially before the year-end polls.

The goal of the conference is to come up with ways to jump-start the nation's sluggish economy, which could be a hot-button issue in the December polls.

"We must be efficient and coordinate to do our part to try to reverse the downward trend," Lien said.

Through the negotiations, he said, the opposition parties will also monitor the administrative branch and work out a schedule to ensure that the conference's proposals are implemented in a timely fashion.

Lien said the KMT would contact the other parties to prepare for the talks later this month.

As to whether representatives from the Cabinet or Presidential Office will be invited to the negotiations, Lien said the KMT "will not rule out any possibility."

Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪), director-general of the Department of Public Affairs at the Presidential Office, said his office welcomes any action that is helpful in realizing the proposals of the Economic Development Advisory Conference.

Kuo said the design of the conference was intended to reduce the political obstacles the DPP government has faced in getting its policies implemented.

DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday that the party would definitely take part in the negotiations.

"There is hope for our society if the political parties are willing to negotiate. Political parties need to do more than struggle with each other," Hsieh said.

Hsieh said the DPP had raised a similar proposal last year, but a meeting never materialized because the opposition parties were not supportive.

PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) also expressed his support for Lien's proposal yesterday.

"When the resolution of economic problems involves both politics and policy, we need to conduct bilateral or multi-lateral negotiations among political parties after the economic experts have put forth their proposals," Soong said.

Soong, who is expected to visit with Lien this week, said he will discuss with Lien economic issues during the meeting, in addition to matters concerning KMT-PFP cooperation in the year-end elections.

Lee Ben-nan (李炳南), secretary-general of the New Party, said the party was also on board and would do anything to promote political stability and economic development.
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