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Ma, Soong to meet `naturally': Chin

People First Party Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng, left, and some party officials yesterday visit Chinese Nationalist Party Secretary-General Chan Chuen-pao at the KMT's headquarters in Taipei. PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

People First Party (PFP) Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng (秦金生) yesterday said that party chairman James Soong's (宋楚瑜) meeting with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will happen "naturally," a remark which prompted speculation that Soong might not want to meet with Ma.

Ma later agreed that the meeting should only take place "when the time is right."

"The meeting with KMT Chairman Ma will happen naturally after Chairman Soong returns to Taiwan. There is no need to press the matter," Chin said yesterday after a meeting with KMT Secretary-General Chan Chuen-pao (詹春柏).

In response, Ma repeated Chin's remarks and agreed that the meeting will happen sooner or later.

"When everyone feels the time is right, we can meet and work something out," he said.

The continuous postponing of a meeting between the two chairmen adds to the difficulties Ma has had to work closely with the PFP, as well as the aim of integrating the parties. While the two parties continued to attempt strengthening their ties ahead of the year-end elections for local mayors and county commissioners -- with Chin paying a visit to KMT Secretary-General Chan Chuen-pao at KMT headquarters in Taipei yesterday -- the two still failed to work out a detailed plan on how to cooperate.

"The meeting with KMT Chairman Ma will happen naturally after Chairman Soong returns to Taiwan. There is no need to press the matter."

Chin Chin-sheng, People First Party secretary-general

After a short talk in the meeting room, Chan said that while they had reached a consensus to work closely together, the two parties are currently working on addressing concerns from each side before establishing a collaboration mechanism.

In addition to discussing possible ways to create a win-win situation in the year-end elections, Chin also exchanged opinions with Chan regarding the PFP's Shanghai forum in September.

"We asked Mr. Chan and a KMT think tank for advice, and hopefully their opinions can help the PFP to strengthen cross-strait economic relations in the forum," Chin said.

"It is our hope that the two parties can work together, with reciprocal honesty and respect," he said.

Yesterday's meeting was the second attempt by the two parties to strengthen their relations, three days after Chan visited PFP headquarters. During the first meeting, the two parties reached a preliminary three-point consensus on the year-end elections, agreeing to "respect public opinion," to "keep to promises" and to "map out a mechanism for collaboration between the two parties."
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