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PFP merger delegation talks to Ma

A delegation from the People First Party (PFP) paid a visit to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday to discuss the merger of the two pan-blue parties.

The two parties agreed to complete a phased merger, with the first step being to establish a negotiation mechanism by the end of next month.

The conclusion was reached between KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the committee during a more than two-hour closed-door meeting at KMT headquarters.

PFP legislative caucus whip Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交), who is one of the five-member KMT-PFP merger committee, said the two parties will iron out a negotiation mechanism for nominating candidates to run for all levels of public office by the end of next month.

Monday meeting

The establishment of a negotiating platform to deal with personnel and legal affairs will be announced by the two parties' chairmen after they meet on Monday.

"The meeting also concluded that the process toward the merger should be based on the principles of respecting public opinion, building mutual trust, establishing a sound system and sharpening competitive edges," he added.

As for the KMT, Ma said yesterday before the meeting that the party will demonstrate the "maximum sincerity and the greatest goodwill" to reach a deal with the PFP on the merger.

Asked whether the PFP asked that PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) be nominated as the pan-blue candidate for next year's Taipei mayoral election in exchange for the merger, Ma said that the matter was not raised in the meeting.

Taipei race

"Any interested person should follow the party's rules, and the final candidate will be chosen through primaries," he added.

KMT Spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) said the mechanisms will be clearly laid out after Ma discusses the issue with Soong on Monday.

The two parties have been discussing a possible merger since last year. The KMT's Central Standing Committee passed a resolution on May 19 last year approving the plan to merge the KMT with the PFP. The consolidation between the two parties, however, did not go smoothly.

After the Dec. 3 local government elections, in which the KMT won a landslide victory, the two parties have once again accelerated their plans to push for a merger.
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