DPP looks for love in nationwide bicycle campaign

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang talks into a microphone as he leads the DPP's candidates in the coming National Assembly election on a campaign tour through Taipei City yesterday. PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates for the May 14 National Assembly election biked along the Love River in Kaohsiung yesterday to elicit voter support.

Chao Wen-nan (趙文男), head of the DPP's Kaohsiung chapter, said that campaigning by bicycle was aimed at demonstrating the party's vitality and determination to lead Taiwan along its own road.

Chao was alluding to talks between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.

Describing Friday's talks between KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) as anti-Taiwan, Chao said his party would choose to stay with the Taiwanese people, and he urged voters to support the DPP and vote for its candidates in the National Assembly election.

Despite widespread voter apathy toward the elections, Chao said the results would affect the country's constitutional reforms, which will play a key role in national development. He called on DPP candidates to work hard to win the election in order to give a green light to four major constitutional amendment proposals adopted by the Legislative Yuan last August.

Items in the package include reducing the number of legislative seats from the present 225 to 113 and adopting a "single seat, two votes" legislative electoral system starting with the legislature to be elected in 2007, as well as phasing out the National Assembly and replacing it with referendums to decide on constitutional amendments.

The DPP's "Biking On The Road of Constitutional Reforms" campaign is being held around the nation.