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Lawsuit won't hinder cooperation with PFP, DPP says

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials said the People First Party (PFP) defamation lawsuit against President Shui-bian (陳水扁) will not affect the political cooperation between the parties.

"I don't think PFP Chairman Soong (宋楚瑜) will fall out with President Chen because of a few words, since they are people who look at things from the big picture," director of the DPP's Policy Committee, Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), said yesterday. "I believe in Chairman Soong's resolution to pursue political stability and cross-strait reconciliation.

"Cooperation between the DPP and the PFP will continue," he said.

In a TV interview early last month, Chen said he had received information that Soong met secretly with the director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), in the US in January.

The lawsuit asks Chen to apologize to restore Soong's reputation.

"The PFP's gesture simply shows that Soong cared very much about Chen's words," Ker said. "Taking this into account, the Presidential Office and the DPP will enhance communication with the PFP, because we really hope the PFP will continue with its original intention of political reconciliation."

"In fact, the DPP and the PFP hold the same opinion on many bills. I believe that we still have infinite space for cooperation in the future," Ker said.

He said that it was Soong's responsibility to bring the dispute to an end: "Now that the PFP has filed a lawsuit, the apology thing should be put aside, otherwise the two sides will continue to be deadlocked."

Besides, he said, Chen has told DPP legislators that another meeting with Soong was necessary.

"The relationship between Chen and Soong will not rupture so easily," Ker added.

DPP caucus whip Lai Ching-te (賴清德) also said that he expected the PFP would separate the lawsuit issue from its cooperation with the DPP. He said he hoped that the PFP would still participate in the extraordinary legislative session next month so the two parties could push significant bills concerning Taiwan's development.

Commenting on PFP's lawsuit, Chen told a group of businesspeople at a dinner yesterday that the point is not whether Soong' had met with Chen Yunlin. China had conveyed message to the PFP in January that it opposed Taiwan's constitutional revision, particularly the proposal to add referendums, he said.

When asked if the DPP-PFP alliance has faded away, Chen said "the situation is pretty clear, but we won't take the initiative to say good-bye to the PFP."
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