Just days after the KMT and PFP pledged to unite, the proposed marriage showed signs of strain yesterday as one party leader criticized his new political partner.
PFP Chairman James Soong (
"At the very least, the KMT should give me some kind of explanation," said Soong, who left for a Singapore visit yesterday.
The accusations were made about three years ago when Soong was expelled from the KMT for running his own maverick presidential campaign. Soong, who placed second in the vote, refused to support the candidacy of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), who finished third.
During the campaign, the KMT filed a lawsuit against Soong, accusing him of embezzling large sums from party coffers. After the vote, a court ruled in favor of Soong and the KMT didn't appeal.
Soong held a summit with Lien and they decided to try to work together in the 2004 presidential campaign. Several polls have reported that a united opposition could defeat President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
In an interview published yesterday in a Chinese-language daily, Soong said the parties should spend the next two to three months "smoothing out differences and talking about our dissatisfaction and grievances."
Soong said he supported mem-bers of his party who have demanded that the KMT address allegations of widespread corruption. Many believe that graft became endemic in the past 10 years as the former ruling party began to lose its grip on power.
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