DPP approves its national congress agenda

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) passed the agenda yesterday for its year-end national congress at which President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his running mate will officially join the campaign for the March presidential election.

In the party's weekly Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday, Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said the national congress, to be held on Dec. 13 at the Taipei International Convention Center, will see Chen officially introduce his running mate.

The congress will feature a campaign rally to boost the DPP flag bearer's chances.

Immediately after the congress' campaign inauguration, the party will hold a massive campaign gala in the Hsinchuang Sports Stadium in Taipei County.

Chen's running mate is expected to make a speech on the occasion.

Though the DPP continued to play down the issue of Chen's running mate, it is widely believed that Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) is the most likely candidate. Several groups supporting Lu have been established.

Commenting on the Cabinet's newly unveiled five-year, NT$500 billion public construction package, which aims to borrow money using a special budget, Chen said yesterday the projects are not intended to leave debt to future generations but to invest in the nation's offspring.

The "New 10 Key Infrastructure Projects" is named after the "10 Key Infrastructure Projects" initiated by the late Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).

Chen said the program differs from its predecessor in that the old one focused on major infrastructure projects when Taiwan was in economic difficulty in the 1970s, while the new one is aimed at elevating the country's cultural, environmental and living standards.