Soong offers to meet with Chen

PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday offered to meet with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) face-to-face to discuss cross-strait relations and the economy.

Soong said the meeting could take place at any time and venue convenient to Chen, but the event must be open.

"In light of how miserable our economy has become, I won't rule out the possibility of holding a direct, open dialogue with President Chen Shui-bian. I'll demand that the Chen administration precisely identify the status of the nation, face history honestly and the future pragmatically," Soong said.

Responding to Soong's proposition, officials at the Presidential Office said they welcome such a meeting and hope other opposition parties will join the dialogue.

Presidential Office spokesman James Huang (黃志芳) said Chen has long looked forward to carrying on a dialogue with opposition parties so that they could exchange views on national affairs rationally for the sake of political stability and national interests.

Huang said the Presidential Office plans to contact opposition parties and arrange for the meeting after Double Ten Day celebrations.

Chen first invited opposition leaders to a summit in July, but both the KMT and PFP cold-shouldered the invitation.

Soong yesterday said he would like to meet Chen one-on-one, but not in the form of a political summit as proposed by Chen.

Soong made the offer when leading a group of PFP candidates running for Taipei City Council to honor the ROC's founding father, Sun Yat-sen (孫中山), at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

Speaking to the party's supporters, Soong criticized the DPP for celebrating Double Ten day as a mere formality without remembering the significance of the event that occurred on Oct. 10, 1912. He reminded the DPP that the day is celebrated to remember the founding of the ROC following the Wuchang Uprising that overthrew the Qing Dynasty.

"The Constitution and founding of the ROC have an inseparable relationship with China," Soong said.

Soong said the Constitution was written according to the "one China" principle, a point which he said the DPP must recognize clearly.

"Unless this question is clarified, there won't be a solution to cross-strait issues and the economy won't recover," Soong argued.

Soong said he is disappointed with the DPP government's effort to improve the economy, adding he has seen the TAIEX fall below 4,000 points and witnessed more and more people lose their jobs.

He said the PFP was the first opposition party to support the Economic Development Advisory Conference last year, but the DPP has not implemented many of its major policies.

Soong pointed to direct cross-strait shipping as a policy stemming from the conference that the DPP has failed to implement.

He challenged Chen to present substantial measures to resolve the deadlock in cross-strait relations and the country's economic problems rather than procrastinating.

Reacting to the suggestion of a meeting, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said he might accept the idea of discussing economic issues with Chen, but would not meet the president for any other reason, according to KMT spokesman Tsai Cheng-yuan (蔡正元).

"In the hope that the administration can do something to implement the measures, the KMT caucus will also push for relevant legislation in the legislature," Tsai quoted Lien as saying.