Members of the Taiwan Solidarity Union handed in their application for party registration yesterday at the Ministry of the Interior, moving one step closer to officially becoming a party.
But no sooner had they done so than the DPP's chairman and the new party's spokesman began trading barbs.
The new party, established with the help of former president and KMT party chairman Lee Teng-hui (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Its entry into the year-end elections, however, has made all three of Taiwan's major parties, including the ruling DPP, extremely nervous.
When asked to comment on the party's formation yesterday, Frank Hsieh (
"They are nominated just because they want to run in the elections, but that doesn't mean they have a voter base. I hope that results of the election won't have any negative influence on Lee's prestige," Hsieh said.
In their defense, the new political group's official spokesman, Su Chin-chiang (蘇進強), said that the party's candidates did indeed have the public support needed to be elected.
"We've evaluated nominations for each candidate based on their personal image, capability, profession, background, and their voter bases. The other parties are nervous about facing us. If DPP candidates' are competitive enough, they shouldn't worry about us," Su said.
After handing in its application yesterday, the party still needs to host a political gathering to be officially registered, according to the Law for People's Groups. At least 30 individuals as well as civil affairs officials need to be in attendance at the gathering.
The party currently is expected to have a membership of up to 50 members, most of whom plan to run in the year-end elections.
Party regulations and names of individuals who are in charge of the party must also be submitted to the government before the party can be officially established and then able to nominate its own candidates for the elections.
The party will hold its debut conference on Aug. 12, and is planning to invite president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the DPP's Chairman Frank Hsieh, the KMT's Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and the PFP's Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
Lee Teng-hui is also expected to attend the conference. The party will release a complete nomination list for the legislative elections during the conference.
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