Lien lists `three dangers' of re-electing Chen

Slamming President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) call for a "preventative referendum," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman and pan-blue alliance presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰) yesterday said Chen's call showed that Taiwan was in a crisis on three fronts.

"In view of Chen's call for a preventive referendum, it shows that Taiwan is in the dangerous condition of being subject to emotional referendums, Boxer Rebellion-like referendums and displaying a lack of care for the plight of ordinary people" Lien said in a speech delivered at a campaign rally held last night at Taipei's CKS Memorial Hall.

Lien was referring to Chen's declaration that he would hold a referendum next March calling on China to withdraw ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan and demanding that China renounce the use of force against the nation.

"The preventative referendum should be renamed the moody referendum," Lien ridiculed, criticized Chen's rephrasing of the term from "defensive referendum" to "preventive referendum" as showing Chen's mercurial manner.

"The president's mood changes are becoming a grave national crisis," Lien said.

He went on to mock Chen's call for a referendum on China's missiles as a Boxer Rebellion-like referendum "thinking that [holding the referendum] would able to block China's missiles."

Admitting that his failed presidential bid four years ago was hard for him to accept in the initial stages, Lien yesterday stressed that he had learned a lot over the past four years.

Chen won the 2000 presidential election with 39 percent of the vote nationwide; People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), now Lien's running mate but who then ran as an independent, took 36 percent while Lien, the KMT's candidate, came in a distant third with 23 percent.

"Over the past four years, I've seen the people's plight," Lien said. "Chen, on the other hand, has forgotten people's everyday struggles since taking office but cares only about his re-election campaign."

Taking the stage before Lien, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), in his capacity as the chief campaign manager of the alliance's campaign team, worked to bolster Lien's presidential candidacy by criticizing the DPP administration's performance as "disappointing" and stressing that under Lien's leadership in the past three years, the KMT has engaged in introspection resulting in reform.

Prior to the rally last night, the alliance formally established its national campaign headquarters in Taipei yesterday afternoon.

Located in the KMT-owned Pa-te building (八德大樓), the spot was also the campaign headquarters of Ma when he was running for his second mayoral term last December and of former president Lee Teng-hui and his then vice-president Lien when they were running in the 1996 presidential election.

Numerous pan-blue political luminaries showed up at the event to express their support for Lien and Soong.

Lien took the occasion to slam Chen for "being irrational" about his referendum call.

"I want to sternly tell Chen that the best defense for Taiwan is not through the so-called preventative referendum but to rebuild Taiwan's economic strength to achieve another Taiwan miracle," Lien said.

Lien then highlighted the theme of his presidential campaign, which is to be "salvaging Taiwan by salvaging Taiwan's economy and peace" (拼經濟,拼和平,救台灣).