President Chen Shui-bian (
Asked if Chen is the right person to chair the council, Lee said that it was meaningless and unnecessary for the president to personally chair the body since it is actually designed to consult with the government.
"This is very strange. This is not right," Lee said.
Lee's words have been interpreted as a good excuse for Chen not to head the council. Under pressure from opposition parties as well as Beijing officials, the Presidential Office recently hinted that Chen might chair the group.
The suggestion later led to great criticism inside the DPP, which has traditionally favored independence.
Lee claimed that a gap in understanding between Taiwan and China does not exist.
According to Lee, the DPP had planned on abolishing its pro-independence platform but eventually dropped the motion when Beijing officials failed to voiced any response to the party's goodwill gesture. Lee stressed that it takes two to improve cross-strait relations.
"The efforts by Taiwan alone are insufficient," Lee said.
Lee also criticized former president Lee Teng-hui (
According to Academia Sinica's Lee, the former president's special "state-to-state" relationship (
Meanwhile, Ting Yuan-chao (
"Why would the former president ask Lee to chair the Academia Sinica if he supports `black gold?'" Ting asked.
The opposition parties, the KMT and the People First Party (PFP) also criticized Lee, saying that the cross-party task force does not represent the people of Taiwan. Both parties believe such an organization outside the system should be abolished.
Lee said that the cross-party task force (
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