PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday called on Pre-sident Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to be honest and stop making groundless accusations against rivals as part of his campaign strategy.
The former governor said it was irresponsible of Chen to state that the central government had inherited NT$800 billion in debt from the provincial government when he took office in May last year.
"The statement is totally reckless and in complete contradiction to reality. A leader of the state should be honest with the public," Soong said.
"It is not considered proper for a president to make personal attacks or attempt to shirk his responsibilities during election campaigns."
On Sunday, Chen said at a campaign rally in Tainan that he was handed NT$2.4 trillion worth of debt from the KMT-ruled administration when he took charge of the government in May last year.
One third of the debt, according to the president, was inherited from the provincial government when Soong was the provincial governor.
Soong, a former KMT member, served as the governor from 1994 to 1999.
Chen's accusations resembled the KMT's charges against Soong, a former KMT maverick, during the presidential election last year.
During the presidential election, the KMT launched a barrage of allegations against Soong after he insisted on running for president despite the party's objections.
The KMT said Soong had used state coffers to make unrealistic promises in order to court voters, and it was these promises that were responsible for the government's debt.
Considered one of the most likely successors of then-president Lee Teng-hui (
After countering Chen's charges on the financial front, Soong went on to challenge Chen's statement that he had rejected the president's invitation to attend a national security briefing.
Soong accused Chen of using national affairs to attack him as part of his campaign tactics. He said he wondered "if Chen was trying to solve problems, or create more."
Soong said earlier that he used the pretext that he was ill in order "to save face" for the government in case the chairmen of the New Party and KMT decided not to attend.
After the terrorists attacks on the US, Chen invited opposition leaders to attend a national security briefing held on Oct 9. in order to make the nation's policies concerning national defense and international affairs known to them.
None of them were in attendance. Soong said "he was too ill to attend."
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