Branding President Chen Shui-bian's (
Soong, the vice presidential candidate of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-PFP alliance, stressed that his decision to not vote on the referendum was his personal stance and did not reflect the position of the alliance as a whole.
"The alliance has yet to reach a final consensus on this matter," Soong said. "The referendum is illegal in my personal view. And since it is illegal, I will therefore not go and pick up the ballot and take part in this illegal referendum."
With that said, Soong urged people who shared similar views to not pick up their referendum ballots, "because not picking up ballots is also an expression of opinion, by which we can convey to the government our protest against the holding of an illegal referendum."
In comparison to Soong, whose rhetoric crystallized his stance on the March 20 referendum, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Lien took part in a TV talk show Monday night during which he was asked by the show's host, Lee Tao (
Without stating yes or no, Lien said that "voting is the people's right, and their choice should not be publicized, nor can the government force the people to publicize their voting preferences."
Claiming that the nation is not faced with a clear and present danger to its national sovereignty, Soong stressed that the alliance was not opposed to referendums, but only to the "illegal" referendum.
He claimed that Chen's proposal lacked a statutory basis and did not meet the criteria detailed in Article 17 of the Referendum Law (
Article 17 entitles the president to initiate a referendum on national security issues "whenever the country is faced by an external threat that could interfere with national sovereignty."
Soong then questioned the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) motives in holding the referendum on the same day as the presidential election, saying that the alliance was concerned that such an action might lead to conflict or disputes.
Soong also said that he found the letter supporting Chen's referendum plan signed by over 1,000 top academics disagreeable.
Saying that morality and conscience are the two most important virtues valued in the academic and medical circles, Soong called on these academics and physicians to come out and clearly state whether Chen's referendum plan was legal.
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