President mum after Annette Lu's offer to resign

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday remained silent about Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) offer to resign as the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) acting chairwoman on Monday.

Lu's offer to resign has provoked widespread discussion. Inside the DPP, Lu's decision prompted criticism that she was deliberately making trouble for the party.

Following the Dec. 3 local government elections, the DPP has been embroiled in infighting, which culminated in Lu's offer to resign as acting party leader, even as the party's rivals in the pan-blue camp are busy talking about consolidating their position through a merger.

Although Lu has offered to step down, her resignation must be approved by the party's Central Standing Committee, which is scheduled to meet today.

The committee is widely expected to accept her offer.

Lawmakers yesterday were divided over Lu's unexpected move.

DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) said that Lu should not be the only person held responsible.

"The person who proposed that Lu take up the party's top job should be held responsible," he said.

"So should the person who nominated her to run for vice president," he added.

DPP Legislator Lin Chung-mo (林重謨), who has expressed interest in running for the party's chairmanship, said that it was not a big deal that Lu offered to resign.

"Let me tell you this: The sun will still rise in the east, and the earth will still keep turning," he said.

While Lu cited factional infighting as the cause of her departure, Lin yesterday said that she was not the only person to have such experiences. His advice for her, he said, was to keep trying and never give up.

DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said that he felt sorry to see Lu offer her resignation, but that Lu should have worked things out with Chen in the first place, rather than dragging the party, its caucus and DPP supporters into the fray.

Nonetheless, Wang said that he hopes to see Lu continue to serve as the acting chair and that he believed she would do a good job.

For the moment, Chen and Lu were keeping their heads down. According to officials at the Presidential Office, neither Chen nor Lu had any public events scheduled yesterday, and there was no plan for the two leaders to meet inside the office.

But many of the party faithful were concerned about the long-term effects of Chen and Lu's apparent falling out.

DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) said that he felt sorry to see party factions engage in power struggles after the elections, while they should have focused on examining the cause of their election defeat.

"I'm afraid if the situation continues, the odds of winning the next elections, including the presidential election, will be slim," he said.

Lee predicted that the party's Central Standing Committee will try to ask Lu to stay, but with no success.

In addition to calling on the committee to fix the problem, Lee proposed that the president call a meeting to mend fences with Lu and plead for an end to factional infighting.

Lee said that he believes the president did not hold any grudges against Lu, but the matter was championed by people close to the president who were disappointed at the outcome of the Dec. 3 elections.

Some people have expressed the hope of seeing caucus whip Jao Yung-ching (趙永清) take over the chairmanship if Lu's resignation is approved, but Lee yesterday said that he does not think Jao is a good choice, because Jao joined the party "only" four years ago after leaving the KMT.

DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) backed Lee's position, but DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) disagreed.

Jao, who admitted that his credentials are not as strong as others', said that it was the consensus to ask Lu to retain her position, and he called on the party to introspect and continue party reform.

DPP Legislator and Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) said that he does not have any preference regarding who should chair the party as long as it is made in accordance with the party system.

He, however, expressed frustration over the way the matter is being handled, namely via the media rather than through talking with the person concerned.

Sources said that Lu had received no encouragement from Chen since taking up the post of DPP acting chairperson last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, speculation is mounting that Lu engineered last week's Central Standing Committee election for acting chairperson, but DPP Legislator Trong Chai (蔡同榮) dismissed the allegation. He said the election was proposed by Central Standing Committee member Chou Ching-yu (周清玉).

Lu won the support of five members, while two, including Jao himself, endorsed Jao as acting chair.