Speaking during his final appearance at the DPP's weekly Central Standing Committee before being sworn in as president on May 20, Chen Shui-bian (
Chen also announced that the DPP was conditionally willing to enter into a "cooperative relationship" with other political parties.
"Party politics" will be both competitive as well as cooperative in the new administration, Chen said yesterday.
The comments represented Chen's first public statement regarding the new administration's stance on the issue.
As long as party cooperation is "in the national interest, and benefits the people as a whole," the DPP is willing to enter into cooperation with other parties, Chen said, "provided that a system of checks and balances is established."
Saying that he would not have reached the presidency without the support of the DPP over the years, Chen emphasized that although he will resign from the party's standing committee after May 20, he will continue to support the DPP and help it to increase its strength.
At a press conference after the meeting, Chen billed himself as a president "for all the people," and not just a president that won on the DPP ticket.
Chen also said he hoped that the DPP will capture at least 12 of the 21 county and municipal seats in elections next year, and that the DPP could become the majority -- or at least the largest party -- in the Legislative Yuan after elections at the end of next year.
The party currently garners support from more than two-thirds of Taiwan's population at the county and city levels, but at the national level the KMT still holds the balance of power.
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