KMT Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) caused a stir last week when he called on KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) to put aside self interest and consider whether there was any combination of candidates which might have a greater chance of winning in next year's presidential race.
One day after making the comments, Wu rephrased his opinion, saying that a combination featuring the parties' chairmen would meet with less dissent and that he fully supports a Lien-Soong ticket if Lien and Soong decide to pair off.
The events highlight Wu's style.
In politics for a decade, Wu seeks neutral territory in addressing issues. Although this style has prevented him from making enemies across party lines, it often ends up keeping the public guessing as to what he really has in mind.
Wu said that, as a politician, one must act as a model for the general public.
"Politicians ought not to be lenient on themselves and harsh toward others, for such acts will only highlight one's hypocrisy and absurdity," he said.
Political
experience
Wu has served as Taoyuan County Commissioner, secretariat of the KMT and director-general of the former state-controlled Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board (菸酒公賣局). The board last July transformed itself into a company, changing its name to Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (台灣菸酒公司).
Wu was the minister of the interior from 1984 to 1988 before serving as Taipei mayor from 1988 to 1990.
Wu then served as minister without portfolio before being tapped by then-premier Lien Chan in 1991 to take up the job as minister of the interior again.
Under the previous KMT government, Wu served as the Presidential Office secretary-general from 1994 to 1996 and then as senior adviser to the president from 1997 to 2000.
Along with other Cabinet-level officials, Wu stepped down from his post in March 2000 when Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) won the presidency.
During the last presidential election, Wu had been among the contenders for the KMT's vice presidential nomination, but the party's then-presidential candidate, Lien Chan, instead chose then-premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長).
Soong -- who then was running his own maverick campaign, had wanted Wu to pair with him on a ticket. But Wu said he would neither leave the KMT nor support candidates who were not KMT members.
"I would not want to become a malefactor in history who splits the KMT," he said.
Although currently serving as a vice chairman of the KMT, Wu spends large amount of time taking part in philanthropic and cultural events. Wu is the head of the Poh Chung Educational Foundation (
President Chen has praised Wu's contributions to Hakka culture, and once expressed a desire to recruit Wu as an adviser to handle Hakka affairs.
Religious ties
As a devoted Buddhist, Wu, 64, is active in events related to religion and is the head of Taiwan's Buddha Light International Association (國際佛光會中華總會).
Last February, Wu, together with Buddhist Master Hsing Yun (星雲法師), founder of the Fokuang-shan Monastery in Kaohsiung County (佛光寺), led a 300-member delegation to China to escort a relic -- a finger believed to have belonged to Sakyamuni Buddha -- to Taiwan for exhibition in Taipei and other places around Taiwan for 40 days.
Known for his singing talent, Wu can often be seen smiling.
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