Lien and Soong meet face-to-face once again

KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) confirmed yesterday that he met with People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) on Friday to discuss possible cooperation between the two opposition parties.

On a whistlestop trip to Ilan to court party members' support for his bid for re-election as party leader, Lien was asked about a report yesterday that the two rivals in last year's presidential elections met for a third time last Friday.

Describing his meeting with Soong as "friendly," Lien would not divulge the details of their talks.

A local paper that mistakenly reported that the two met Thursday, said the political party leaders exchanged views on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) and the two parties' legislative agendas in the new legislative session. The paper reported that the two also explored prospects for cooperation in the year-end legislative elections.

The paper said the meeting was held at Soong's request because he wanted to thank Lien for the KMT's decision not to pursue embezzlement charges against him.

The KMT had earlier initiated a legal complaint against Soong during the peak of the presidential election campaign over allegations that Soong misappropriated over NT$300 million in party funds while serving as party secretary-general.

The charge, dismissed by Soong as a political smear campaign, was dropped by a prosecutor last month due to a lack of evidence against Soong.

The KMT then decided to let the appeal deadline pass without taking further action against Soong.