An official of the opposition KMT yesterday urged members to rally behind the party to avoid splintering.
KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) made the remarks after reports said an alliance between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) is forming after both attended the inauguration of a pro-independence academic group on Saturday evening.
The presence of Lee, a former KMT chairman before stepping down shortly after the party lost the presidential election last year, is widely expected to give political backing to Chen because of their common approaches and concepts on relations across the Taiwan Strait.
Observers also say that Lee's passion for Taiwan nationalism is another factor in his apparent decision to support Chen and the DPP in the year-end elections.
Lee also said in his address to members of the newly formed Northern Taiwan Society (
Lee stopped short of naming "the one," although it is widely believed that he was referring to Lien Chan (
Asked about a possible Lee-Chen alliance for the crucial year-end elections, Lin said the KMT hopes its members will be calm, rational and more tolerant in the face of developments.
Lin said that he talked with Lien, who is currently visiting France, over the phone on Saturday to brief him on the domestic political and economic situation, during which Lien expressed the hope that all party members would show solidarity, so that those who would try to drive a wedge between KMT members would not be successful.
On calls from KMT grassroots members to revoke Lee's KMT membership because of his recent remarks, Lin said that there are more than 900,000 KMT members and every one of them is entitled to his own view. He urged all members to be calm and rational.
Asked if Lee would face disciplinary action if he decided to stump for candidates from the ruling DPP or other political parties, Lin said that he would not comment.
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