KMT spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) urged the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday to solve its internal conflicts and seek a consensus on major national policies before planning more meetings with the KMT chairman.
After a meeting between KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Monday, other DPP leaders, including Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun expressed their willingness to meet with the opposition leader.
On Tuesday, Ma downplayed the possibility of meeting with any DPP leaders in the near future, saying he had been disappointed by the "unproductive" meeting.
Cheng yesterday restated the party's lukewarm attitude toward discussing issues with the DPP.
"The DPP's plight is that President Chen, with his reckless approach in dealing with major issues, leaves no room for discussion among party elites," she said yesterday at KMT headquarters. "The most important thing for the DPP now is to find common ground on major national policies."
Cheng said Ma's decision to arrange a meeting with Chen had mainly been to share his experiences from his US trip, to help mend differences between the parties and to seek ways to improve people's livelihoods.
The DPP leadership's eagerness to meet with Ma reflected their party's concerns about its own future, and before it solved its own problems, the KMT would "politely refuse to hold any meetings with the DPP," the spokeswoman said.
Asked whether Ma would attend a national conference on sustainable economic growth to be convened by the Executive Yuan this summer, she quoted Ma as saying that the government should "just do it" instead of simply talking about the issue.
Cheng suggested that the DPP focus on implementing the outcome of the first national economic development conference in order to revive the economy.
"The KMT has no plans to take part in a KMT-DPP summit," she said.
Director of the KMT's Chinese Affairs Department Chang Rong-kung (張榮恭) yesterday questioned the Executive Yuan's intentions, saying that it had invited opposition parties to the conference to gain their endorsement of its cross-strait policies.
"Unless the government declares that the outcome of the meeting will change President Chen's policy of `active management,' any meeting between the ruling and opposition camp won't be necessary," he said.
Chang said many conclusions reached at the first national economic development conference, such as the promotion of direct flights and the three links, had not been implemented by the DPP government.
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