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DPP, TSU seek to integrate opinions

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday announced they would co-sponsor a conference to integrate public opinion on national affairs.

DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) made the announcement shortly after Huang visited Tsai yesterday at DPP headquarters in Taipei.

DPP Secretary-General Wang Tuoh (王拓) said the proposed “2009 Taiwan Civil National Affairs Conference” would be conducted in two parts.

The first part would be held before the Lunar New Year holiday and would focus on the nation’s financial situation and how to help people hit by the global financial crisis. The second part would be held after the Lunar New Year holiday and social and government reform would be the key topics, Wang said.

Tsai said the number of people joining the three rallies organized by the DPP and other groups over the past couple of months far exceeded the party’s expectation, which meant “the public is anxious and dissatisfied with the government’s poor performance, prompting the DPP and TSU to hold the proposed conference.”

The integration of public opinion through the proposed conference could help monitor government performance, she said.

When asked whether she would meet with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Tsai said she did not know what Ma wanted to talk with her about, but added that if the planned national affairs conference reaches any conclusion, she would be happy to take the results and discuss them with Ma.

The DPP and the TSU would invite individuals from think tanks, universities, political parties, legislative caucuses and experts from various fields to attend the conference, Wang said. Ma and central government officials will also be invited to take part, Wang said.

“We hope they can come and listen to the real voice of the people,” he said.

When asked for response at a separate setting yesterday, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said the Ma government welcomed the opposition parties and other groups to watch over its performance.

The president still hoped to meet with Tsai and had contacted her many times to arrange a meeting, he added.

Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) said “that is their business” when asked to comment on the DPP and the TSU’s planned national affairs conference.

What Tsai and Huang should do is urge the government to hold a cross-party meeting so both sides could join to formulate proposals instead of just talking amongst themselves, Wu said

The DPP-TSU national affairs conference won’t achieve anything without government participation because its conclusions will be useless if they can’t be turned into policies, he added.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN AND MO YAN-CHIH
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