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Ma, Soong to talk cooperation

The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) meeting with the People First Party (PFP) today will focus on pan-blue cooperation in the legislature, but the issue of how to deal with the premiership will also be on the table, the KMT leader said.

"The pan-blue camp's majority in the legislature relies on KMT-PFP cooperation. Any factors that may influence the alliance's majority will be discussed [in the meeting]," KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday morning before presiding over the party's weekly Central Standing Committee (CSC) meeting.

Ma said a meeting with his PFP counterpart, James Soong (宋楚瑜), would also take place, and was meant to "maintain an unimpeded communication channel between the two parties."

The possibility of the pan-blue camp forming a Cabinet is also one but not the only issue the two will talk about, he added.

The meeting is scheduled to be a one-and-a-half hour closed-door discussion between the two chairmen, accompanied by the parties' secretary-generals.

Asked to comment on the premiership issue, which had created friction between him and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Ma denied any discord with Wang, and lauded him for informing the KMT immediately about his conversation with the president about the premiership.

"We have no doubt about Wang's loyalty to the KMT, and I expect to have more communication and cooperation with him ... Speaker Wang is indispensable in the legislature," he said.

Wang yesterday appealed to the public to put an end to speculation about his recent meeting with the president to discuss the government reshuffle.

He also dismissed speculation that he was worried that Ma might not make him a legislator-at-large in the next legislative elections in 2007.

"It is a joke that I'm worried about [the post]," Wang said. "I'd like to say one last time that President Chen Shui-bian [陳水扁] did not ask me to lead a reorganized Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] government. Let's stop the talk right here and now and focus on how to make the country a better place."

Wang made the remarks in response to a media report that claimed he was mulling whether to take up the post of premier, and whether to stay in the party.

The report said that one of the reasons Wang is worried is that Ma might not designate him as legislator-at-large and let him run in the next legislative elections.

Another concern is that Wang thinks Ma's advisers don't trust him, the report said.

When asked whether he thinks Ma is a nice person, Wang said he does not like to comment on a particular individual and he will let the public be the judge.

Meanwhile, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) yesterday said that the president had not asked Wang to form a new Cabinet.

In other developments, KMT Spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) said yesterday that her party will set up an integrity and efficiency monitoring committee next week.

The committee, which is part of an effort by Ma Ying-jeou to fight corruption in the party, will include 11 members, of which party members can hold no more than five seats.

During the CSC meeting yesterday, Ma Ying-jeou called on "righteous citizens" to join the panel.

Recommendations for suitable candidates can be made before Dec. 31, Cheng said.

A Web site, "integrity mailbox" and hotline will be established to support the committee.

After completing investigations, the committee will have the authority to discipline party members.

Additional reporting by Chiu Yu-tzu
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