Taipei Times: What are the DPP's campaign platform and goal in the December elections?
Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁): We expect to retain 12 seats in the mayoral and county commissioner elections and 80 to 85 seats in the legislature. In order to get the 80 seats, we have to crack down on vote buying.
The dominating platform of the campaign is "the nation must move forward. Taiwan must not return to the old path." And there are four concrete themes -- economic recovery, legislative re-form, a crackdown on "black gold" politics and the restoration of degraded land.
TT: What is the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the US and damage by Typhoons Toraji and Nari on the elections?
Wu: Not too much so far. Executive officials of the DPP are no less competent than those of other parties in terms of dealing with natural disasters and crisis management.
Taiwan's economy has been deteriorating, but largely due to international factors, especially after the Sept. 11 incident. Voters don't seem to put the blame on any particular political party since the approval rate of all parties has not changed much.
TT: It's almost certain that no single party will secure a majority in the legislative election. To what extent does the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) pose a threat to the DPP in the elections?
Wu: The TSU will have only a limited degree of impact on the DPP's number of seats. The TSU will get seven to eight seats at best, and three to five at worst. That doesn't matter too much.
We won't attack them in the campaign and will cooperate with the party after the elections. But even with their seats, there's still a long way to go to get a majority.
TT: Has the DPP decided which political party it will form a Cabinet with after the elections?
Wu: This is as yet undecided. There are many complicated factors involved. In terms of supporters' ideology, cooperation between the DPP and KMT would be more natural than with other parties.
But the hostility shown by the KMT's leadership toward the DPP in the last 18 months has made cooperation difficult.
The number of seats the DPP and KMT hold will be quite close, and a combination of the two will form the most stable majority government. But both will have to pay a high price for this by giving away political capital.
Cooperation with the PFP's leadership is easier, but the [divergent] ideologies of both parties' supporters has made the cooperation with the PFP difficult.
TT: If the KMT loses a lot of seats, will there be a reorganization of its leadership?
Wu: This is a question for that party's leadership. If the DPP loses 30 seats, the party chairman will step down immediately. But the culture in the KMT is different.
TT: The DPP managed to become the ruling party in 14 years because of its visions for Taiwan. But there seems to be a gap between its promises and what it has delivered.
Wu: We won in the presidential election, but we have not been able to get the power to rule effectively. The most formidable difficulty is that we are the minority in the Legislative Yuan. Moreover, the defiance of the bureaucratic system since the transfer of political power remains [a serious problem].
TT: So what are the DPP's visions now for Taiwan?
Wu: We have not changed our fundamental ideas about Taiwan, such as independence, environment protection and protection of minority groups. Otherwise, we wouldn't have brought up the issue of scrapping the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四). But we are the minority in the Legislative Yuan and we have not had enough power to carry out our ideas.
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