Lee signs up to DPP's referendum bid

Responding to Lee's support for the referendum campaign, KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) said: "Former president Lee might have forgotten what he had done before."

The period when Lee was KMT chairman was the most energetic in terms of the management of the party's assets, Wu said. The party made huge amounts of money and also suffered great losses, he said.

KMT caucus whip Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍) said it was inappropriate for Lee to sign the petition because he was a former KMT chairman.

KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-ming (帥化民) said that Lee was the least qualified to criticize the KMT's assets problem because he had benefited from the assets.

Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) praised Ma's bid to win Lee's support.

"It's a normal thing." Wang said, adding that Lee would help win over KMT pro-localization voters.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan