The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its legislative caucus yesterday unanimously vowed to back President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and said they would work together to assist the president in stabilizing the political situation, in the wake of the president's son-in-law Chao Chien-ming's (趙建銘) suspected involvement in an insider trading scandal.
As the DPP's reputation and image have been severely tarnished by the scandal, about 30 DPP lawmakers met yesterday to discuss how to heal the party's wounds and halt the emerging split between DPP factions.
After the two-hour meeting, faction leaders held a press conference at the Legislative Yuan to state that they would unite to rebuild people's trust in the DPP and they would try their best to assist the president to get through his current difficulties.
"The DPP will examine itself thoroughly to see what has happened since it came to power," DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
"We will arise from the ruins and make a comeback," Ker said.
Another caucus whip Chen Chin-jun urged DPP members not to be so eager to draw a line between themselves and the president.
"The only solution to the current predicament is to be more united than before. We don't think it is helpful to blame everything on the president," Chen Chin-jun said.
The DPP yesterday also issued a public letter signed by DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), urging all party members to remain calm and united and saying that the DPP will not let them down when eradicating corruption.
Meanwhile, in an interview published yesterday by Sankei Shimbun, a major Japanese business daily, Lu said she regretted that the president's son-in-law could not resist temptation and made mistakes, the latest in a spate of corruption scandals that have seriously dented the image of the president and the DPP.
But she urged voters to give Chen another chance so that he can fulfill his campaign promises before his term expires in 2008.
With the DPP mired in a series of scandals, Lu admitted that there was no reason to be optimistic about the party's performance in the year-end Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral elections.
Lu said the DPP will handle the corruption and scandals within the party and that the detention of the president's son-in-law shows that everyone is equal before the law.
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