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KMT, DPP trade barbs over plight of local economy

"The government cannot keep asking the people to be patient until it has mastered the rules of the game."

Lien Chan, KMT chairman

The opposition KMT hit back at President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday, saying he is more interested in word games than finding a cure for the country's flagging economy.

On Tuesday Chen complained to a group of Taiwan businessmen based in North America that the opposition has sought to thwart his administration because of a partisan vendetta left over from the presidential election.

KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said it defied his understanding that the president has shown what he called a "tireless penchant" for casting blame, rather than lifting the nation out of its economic anguish.

"The voters elected him to look after their interests, but he has failed their mandate by doing nothing for the past 12 months," Lien said at the meeting of the KMT Central Standing Committee.

Lien said scapegoating the opposition promised no solution to the problems of rising unemployment and capital fight to China, where lower production costs are luring Taiwan investors to move their business across the Strait.

The trend has aggravated a jobless rate that hit a record high in March and is expected to climb in the summer when hundreds of thousands of graduates enter the job market for the first time.

"The government cannot keep asking people to be patient until it has mastered the rules of the game," said Lien, whose humiliating defeat in the presidential polls last year ended the KMT's half-century grip on power.

With a majority control in the legislature, the KMT, however, has been able to crush policy bills introduced by the Cabinet -- including the 44-hour workweek the party had previously supported.

This and other setbacks caused the president to complain to a group of visitors last year that "whatever I propose, they [the opposition parties] oppose."

KMT lawmaker Chen Chien-chih (陳健治) said the president is seeking to find excuses for his lackluster showing by portraying himself as helpless.

He also noted that Chen is so proud that he has so far refused to heed any advice proffered by rival group or party.

A reconciliation between the DPP and opposition parties fiz-zled in October after the Cabinet halted work on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) right after a meeting between the KMT leader and the president.

"The president plans to sweep city streets on May 20 to mark his inauguration," the KMT lawmaker went on. "That is just another political stunt in line with all the others he has staged since taking office."

Chen Chien-chih said what the country needs is leaders with vision, not street cleaners, of whom there are plenty as a result of the slowing economy.

His colleague Yeh Ching-feng (葉金鳳) echoed his remarks, saying the president should engage in soul-searching and "quit campaigning."

The frequent trips Chen has taken to different parts of the country is seen by critics as an effort to win re-election in 2004.

"The president should stay in his office more and carve out a clear course for the nation," Yeh said. A tree with solid roots could weather stormy conditions unscathed, she added, refuting Chen's charge that his administration, like a small tree, has struggled to grow with the opposition continually trying to undermine its base.
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