Ma says he'll support blue team's choice

Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday kept a low profile after a meeting between KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and his PFP counterpart James Soong (宋楚瑜).

Ma said that he would throw his full support behind a Lien-Soong ticket for the 2004 presidential election if it is a decision jointly backed by the two parties.

After the meeting, Ma said a joint ticket is something favored by all pan-blue supporters.

He declined to comment further about the pairing of candidates, saying "it is more important to work on turning around the economy than talking about the pairing of candidates.

"The economy has been slumping. If we keep talking about who should go with whom for the presidential election, people will get tired of this issue. What we should focus on now is the economy," Ma said.

"At this moment, the less I say, the better," he added.

Ma said that he is confident about cooperation in the blue camp now that the mayoral elections are over, adding that such cooperation is essential.

Ma, who won a landslide victory in the Dec. 7 Taipei mayoral race over his DPP challenger Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), has emerged as a new hopeful for the 2004 presidential contest, appearing to outshine Lien and Soong, who have been keen on the presidential bid.

Speculation has been rife that Ma would seek the job as president, based on his high popularity, and break the possible Lien and Soong pairing.

Ma has played down any ambition to run, but has also kept his options open by saying that "I have no such a plan at this moment," or that, "for the sake of pan-blue cooperation, I wouldn't hesitate to take up any position that I am capable of."

Since the mayoral election, the blue camp's plans for 2004 have become an increasingly popular political issue.

"Right now, it is more important to work on establishing a mechanism which can recommend a joint pair of candidates than pondering the match of candidates," KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said yesterday.

Chen is considered a possible candidate to succeed the incumbent Ma Ying-jeou in the next Taipei mayoral election.

As for the rumored pairing of Ma and former Kaohsiung mayor Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) in the presidential contest, Wu yesterday flatly denied speculation that he was promoting himself as a Ma running mate.

"The choice of presidential candidates should be generated objectively through joint recommendation. I don't have personal opinions about any possible candidate," Wu said.