Leaders of the opposition parties yesterday criticized President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for spending more time on DPP members' Taipei mayoral and councilors election campaigns than on government business.
The politicians urged the DPP administration to try and revive the country's economic depression instead of "just fooling around on streets to win an election."
"Almost all government officials -- including the president, the vice president and the premier -- would rather walk on streets to boost their party's candidate," said KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) at a campaign rally yesterday, "I want to ask: does the government have nothing more important to do?"
He said the country is facing problems such as increasing public disorder, a collapsing social welfare system and, especially, a failing economy but the DPP government still devotes all its efforts to the election.
President Chen personally attended the DPP's campaign rally on Friday night to boost the party's Taipei City mayoral election candidate Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), during which he severely questioned the patriotism of Lee's opponent, incumbent mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). He also attacked Ma's personality by saying Ma is "a politician who never apologizes for his mistakes."
Chen even led thousands of Lee's supporters on a walk through the streets.
PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) also attacked Chen's administration, saying its members act like top-class campaign staff but the way they run the country is "third-class."
"We need a tougher government," Soong told supporters while stumping for the party's city-councilor candidates yesterday. "However, the DPP administration is always getting tough in the wrong places."
"For example," Soong said, "the public expects a tougher policy to save the economy and tougher measures to wipe out corruption in the civil service, but President A-bian and the DPP government only know how to treat opposition parties tougher through skillful campaign strategies."
The opposition leaders also reacted to criticism from President Chen at a Friday-night campaign rally, in which the president accused Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of loving China more than Taiwan.
Chen told supporters at the rally that "Ma would rather visit China's special administrative region, Hong Kong, and meet its chief -- but he refused to go to Taiwan's Presidential Office to talk with his president, saying he had no time."
Lien Chan said that Chen is used to manipulating the "opposing ethnic groups and provinces" card and the "independence ideology" card during election campaigns and he is now obviously playing the same old trick.
"Chen and the DPP always try to inflame extreme opposition between different ethnic groups and always advocate independence," Lien said. "His trick might be useful in some counties and cities but will not be functional in Taipei City."
Lien said that President Chen's partaking in the Taipei City election campaign is a bad example and he said that Chen plays the role of mayoral candidate Lee's puppet master.
Meanwhile, the real campaign main actor Ma kept low?profile to respond to Chen's accusation, saying that he did have briefed his Hong Kong trip to the president in some other public occasions, during which the president had also approved of his performance.
"I will try hard to improve those shortcomings pointed out by President Chen," Ma answered reporters yesterday, "but I also have to clarify those incorrect information delivered by the president."
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