An introspective meeting held by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday to examine the causes of its election defeats launched a new wave of factional infighting.
Former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday that Saturday’s meeting was largely positive, but that an unexpected, heated debate about whether to allow party factions again had drawn attention away from the session’s focus.
Su also expressed regret over the low turnout at the meeting, citing in particular the paucity of popularly elected officials.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) did not attend the meeting. Chen had said that his presence would hinder other participants from speaking frankly about the party’s problems, because much criticism would likely be directed at him.
Saturday’s meeting was the last in a series of eight conferences held around the country over the past two weeks to allow supporters and party members to discuss the DPP’s performance and suggest ways to solve its problems.
On the agenda at Saturday’s closed-door meeting were policy goals the party should pursue when in power, the party’s organization and development and how it should confront the international and domestic challenges facing the nation.
Su raised eyebrows when he said during the general discussion that he was very disappointed by the bickering at the meeting over whether to allow factions.
The topic came up as members of one discussion group suggested the party would benefit from the formation of subgroups.
“What the party has left is liability — including its image — and you are still fighting for positions,” he said. “The public couldn’t care less about how we are going to vote.”
Su’s comments drew criticism yesterday, with some saying that his remarks were intended to portray himself as leading the party’s introspection efforts to pave the way for a personal comeback. There were also rumblings about whether Su actually wanted to form an alliance with the DPP’s disbanded New Tide faction, with which he has kept a close relationship.
DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday declined to give his position on the issue of factions, saying only that party members had differing opinions and that he supported healthy competition.
Meanwhile, more than 100 members aged 18 to 35 joined the DPP yesterday, continuing the party’s drive to attract more voices from the younger generation.
Commenting on the party’s newest members, Hsieh expressed hope that they would help reform the party and play a leading role in guiding it, as they are not associated with any faction. More than 1,000 younger members have joined the party’s ranks in the past few weeks.
Addressing an oath ceremony for the new members in Kaohsiung County, Hsieh said he would be happy to assist them in their efforts to renew and transform the party.
He said that he would also make good on his promise to supervise the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration by forming a “shadow government.”
Hsieh said he was confident that the DPP would soon recover and praised it for graciously conceding defeat, unlike the KMT in the previous two presidential elections.
Former vice premier Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), a frontrunner for the DPP party chairmanship, said yesterday that she had great expectations for the party’s future.
Tsai, who is visiting the US, said the party must return to its “down-to-earth” values, discard bureaucracy and formalism, increase party efficiency and embrace different ethnic groups and ideological views.
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