Chen calls on `four' to stop bickering

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday again called for a halt to political bickering among the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) four presidential hopefuls, saying their common enemy was the Chinese Communist Party and not fellow party members.

Chen made the remarks a day after a press conference held by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, who teamed up in criticizing Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) for allegedly using public resources in his campaign for the party's presidential primary next month.

Saying that elections were part of the democratic process and that competition must be healthy, Chen yesterday said he hoped the contenders would stop bickering.

"If they want to throw knives, they should learn to control the force they use," Chen said. "Don't hit too hard or you might cut right into the bones and that would be hard to heal."

"The DPP's real opponent is not inside the party nor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) but the Chinese Communist Party," he said.

Media reports said Su offered to resign on Friday night after the press conference, but the president turned it down.

Asked about the reports, one of Su's staff members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the premier did offer to resign.

The source told the Taipei Times that Su called Chen, saying he would resign if his staying in office irritated the other DPP presidential aspirants.

Commenting on the other three contenders' criticism of Su, Chen yesterday said it was normal to feel nervous and sometimes anxious about the primary, but he hoped they would show more understanding because they had all served as public officials before.

Chen made the remarks after visiting Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), who was hospitalized because of high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels.

In response to speculation that he favored Su over the other three, the president said: "All four contenders are outstanding. I don't support any one in particular. I only support Taiwan because Taiwan cannot afford to lose."

Su, at a separate event yesterday, said he was very upset.

"There is a saying that goes `don' t hate me, hate the game.' But it seems to me that they [Lu, Yu and Hsieh] hate me instead of the game," Su said.

Commenting on Su's offer of resignation, Lu said Su has over the years tendered his resignation several times, but the president had persuaded him to stay.

"He [Su] has already gotten what he wanted," Lu told reporters while traveling on the high speed rail to Taichung yesterday afternoon.

Lu added that she wondered if the president was really helping the public by persuading Su to stay on if being the premier was such a difficult job.

Earlier yesterday, Lu also asked the president to publicly declare his support if he preferred any one candidate.

"Many people would like to know why the president takes sides and what exactly is the DPP doing," she said. "Credibility is very important to national leaders and it is important to make your attitude clear."

Lu said it was a fact that Su had abused his power as premier, using public resources for election gains.

Although the central government already has a deficit of NT$3.9 trillion (US$12 billion) and local governments have a deficit of NT$0.7 trillion, the Cabinet has continued to issue big checks to local governments, she said.