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DPP heavyweights agree on wording for 'normal country'

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday reached a consensus on changing the wording of the party's final "normal country" resolution draft agreed to on Aug. 30.

They agreed to amend the draft, which originally stated that "the nation should correct its name and write a new constitution as soon as possible," by stipulating that the nation should "accomplish rectification of `Taiwan' as soon as possible and write a new constitution."

The only major difference between the version agreed on yesterday and the previous one lies in the inclusion of the word "Taiwan" when describing the DPP's "name correction" ideal for the nation.

It took the three DPP heavyweights almost three hours to reach a consensus, which became possible only after Chen invited Yu, Hsieh and DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) to the Presidential Office around noon yesterday to coordinate between Yu and Hsieh, who had been at odds over whether the party's final "normal country" resolution should specify "Taiwan" as the title to pursue.

Hsieh's camp had reservations about Yu's proposed amendment to the draft, fearing the move could scare away voters.

Yu had already begun seeking endorsement for the proposed amendment, winning support from the majority of DPP district chapter directors and more than half of all DPP legislators.

Although Yu had offered to resign last Friday following his indictment on charges of corruption and forgery relating to his special allowance fund, on Saturday he said he would stay put until after the party's national congress on Sunday.

Yu's move drew criticism from Hsieh's camp as it suspected Yu might have postponed his resignation to push through his proposed amendment at the congress.

A story published in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) yesterday cited an unidentified Yu aide as saying that during a meeting with Yu and Hsieh on Tuesday, Chen proposed to amend the Aug. 30 draft by stating that "the nation should correct its name to `Taiwan.'"

The proposal, however, was not accepted by Yu, who insisted on his version of the final resolution, which stipulates that "the nation should change its official title to `Taiwan.'"

Approached by the media before the Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday, Yu said the consensus lived up to his expectations, adding it would be of great help to the party in the presidential race as it offers DPP supporters an ideal and consolidates the party's ranks.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) accused the DPP yesterday of playing politics.

"Playing with words won't change the fact that the DPP is trying to change the `status quo' and I believe people who long for stability will understand the DPP's purpose," KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said at KMT headquarters.

In related developments, the DPP Central Standing Committee passed a non-binding resolution calling on Yu not to resign.

DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), however, said the party would handle Yu's intended resignation according to procedure.

Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
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