DPP, KMT leaders have rare meeting at Harvard event

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) shared the stage last night, arguing over long-stalled political issues when they were asked why the parties can't cooperate with each other.

The two politicians, both touted as possible candidates for the 2008 presidential election, met at the arrangement of the alumni association of their US alma mater, Harvard University.

Lu is the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) acting chairman and Ma is the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) chairman. The meeting was the first time the two party leaders have talked directly with each other since former DPP chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) met in 2000.

Lu asked Ma to take full responsibility for the pan-blue camp blocking the government's nominations to the Control Yuan in the legislature.

"I hope Ma can lead his party in conformity with the law, since we were law school students," she said.

In response, Ma criticized the government for not running the country in accordance with the law.

"If the KMT ran the government and the DPP held the majority in the Legislative Yuan, the KMT government would definitely let the DPP form a Cabinet," he said.

When asked by the media after the event to elaborate on his comments about forming a Cabinet, Ma said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has no intention of asking the pan-blue camp to form the Cabinet, so Ma would not force the issue.

During the talk, Lu said that she had never been happy since she was elected vice president in 2000, but had devoted herself to the country as was the duty of a Harvard alumni.

The meeting was chaired by Morris Chang (張忠謀), the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd and attended by Stephen Tsuei (崔湧), the president of the association.