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Pan-blue leaders gang up on Chen

Opposition leaders yesterday lashed out at President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) governing record, criticizing his leadership as inept and lacking direction.

"We must today unite and courageously confront the coming of the post-DPP era in Taiwan," Lien said.

Lien made the remark at the KMT's mayors and county commissioners meeting in Hsinchu City yesterday. The event was seen as an opportunity for the blue camp to show its unity in the run-up to next year's presidential election as both PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) were in attendance as guests of the KMT.

While both Lien and Yok arrived at the meeting on time, Soong showed up about 10 minutes late. Soong blamed his tardiness on his chauffeur being unfamiliar with the route and used his driver's confusion as a metaphor for the DPP administration.

"The same scenario happens to Taiwan as we speak," he said. "The central government headed by Chen is like to a driver who loses his way and can't figure out what the situation is. As a result, [he] keeps everyone waiting and wondering where they are heading."

"The Chen administration cannot lead its people to find a correct direction," Soong said.

Noting reports that prosecutors plan to summon former chairman of the KMT's Business Management Committee Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) in the near future for clarification of Soong's role in the Chung Hsing Bills Finance scandal, Soong lambasted Chen's record on judicial reform, saying the administration was toying with the system.

In the scandal, which first surfaced in 1999, Soong was accused of being involved in irregular money transactions involving hundreds of millions of NT dollars from the KMT during his tenure as the party's secretary-general.

The case was closed in 2001 but the Taipei prosecutors' office later decided to assign a five-man task force to probe the matter after new evidence was presented by the KMT's lawyer, Chuang Po-lin (莊柏林).

In February, as ties between the two blue-camp parties grew closer, the KMT said its allegations of embezzlement against Soong were the "result of misunderstanding."

The PFP chairman said yesterday that political considerations were behind the finance scandal resurfacing.

"I have nothing to do with Liu," Soong said, accusing Chen of working behind the scenes to prod prosecutors into starting a new investigation merely for political reasons.

Yok, whose party began as a KMT splinter group, also took the opportunity to lambaste Chen and his administration, saying it lacks the ability to implement policies.

"The governing performance of the DPP is less than satisfactory," Yok said.

"Since [the DPP] does not perform well, it is natural for us in a democratic society to demand a second transfer of power," he said

At the meeting, Lien, Soong and Yok pledged to join forces to secure victory for the pan-blue camp in next year's election.
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