Chen says he's willing to cooperate with Soong

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said he is willing to cooperate with People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) as long as Soong keeps his word on talks about reconciliation.

It was the first time the president explicitly singled out Soong as the opposition leader he was willing to cooperate with in the wake of last month's legislative elections. Chen made the remarks in the Solomon Islands, at a two-hour gathering with Taiwanese press who are traveling with him.

Chen was referring to Soong's remarks on Saturday upon his return to Taipei from the US. Soong, who has been in the US for most of the time since his party suffered a setback in last month's legislative polls, said he has come to realize that three types of reconciliation are needed: Between China and Taiwan, between political parties and between different ethnic groups.

The president said that Soong's rhetoric echoed his New Year's address, in which he stressed the need for reconciliation and dialogue and said, "for the benefit of domestic politics, the welfare of the people, harmony among ethnic groups and cross-strait stability, there is nothing that can't be achieved in cooperation between the governing and the opposition parties."

"I approve of Soong's [remarks] very much," said Chen, who is currently on his second and last leg of a visit to allies of Taiwan in the South Pacific. "I hope he will do as he says. I am willing to cooperate with him."

Chen said that when talk of reconciliation and cooperation between the governing and opposition parties is mentioned, one should not always cynically assume that such cooperation means divvying up spoils. He stressed that any cooperation between political parties would be held to the highest standard and under the scrutiny of the general public.

"Feb. 1 is the beginning, not the end, of cooperation between political parties and reconciliation between governing and opposition parties," Chen said.

When asked about his expectations of incoming DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Chen said he has total confidence in the DPP's prospects under Su's leadership.

"As I've mentioned before, only when the party is strong will the government be strong; and only when both the party and the government are strong will Taiwan be strong as a nation," said Chen, who resigned from the DPP chairmanship last month to take responsibility for the DPP's poor performance in last month's legislative elections.

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