Chen vows to deliver on Constitution

Wearing a green T-shirt bearing a caricature of Shih on all fours begging for forgiveness and the content of another letter allegedly written by Shih during his incarceration asking for forgiveness from dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), Chen Li-chu threatened to make the letter public.

Su yesterday urged party members to unify under Yu and the president's leadership, saying there was much room for improvement despite the many achievements of the administration over the past six years.

Yu said the party should continue to fortify democracy and make efforts to turn Taiwan into a normal country over the next 10 years.

"We will not stop until we reach our goal," he said.

Later yesterday, the party issued a statement in response to criticism from China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO).

TAO spokesman Li Weiyi (李維一) attacked Chen's plan to amend the Constitution as a deliberate attempt to separate Taiwan from China and sabotage cross-strait relations.

The director of the DPP's Department of Chinese Affairs, Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) said Beijing simply "turned right into wrong."

"Beijing's irrational intimidation will not weaken the will of the Taiwanese people to pursue sustainable democracy, nor will it thwart the party's resolve to push for constitutional reform," Lai said.

He said that Li's comments did not make sense because Beijing had never ruled Taiwan.

Lai called on the international community to recognize Taiwan's "democratic rise" and to coexist with Taiwan's democracy.

"If Beijing continues to make trouble out of nothing, don't underestimate the DPP's sturdy resolve to protect Taiwan's democracy," he said.