Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday dismissed speculation that he can't control the party's legislative caucus, saying that he did not intend to lead like a dictator.
The KMT caucus on Tuesday decided to oppose President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) nomination of Hsieh Wen-ding (謝文定) to be state public prosecutor-general, dooming his appointment. Ma later expressed surprise at the caucus' decision to oppose the nomination rather than to hold an open vote on the issue.
Yesterday he rejected questions that cast doubt upon his leadership capabilities because he could not stop the caucus from opposing the nomination.
"The KMT caucus made a decision, but [some people] blamed the chairman for not giving orders. [Controlling the caucus] is a path toward dictatorship, and I will never walk that path," Ma said.
He urged the government not to shift the blame for the failure of Hsieh's nomination onto the KMT.
"The KMT can't decide everything. We hope that different voices can be heard in the caucus during the decision-making process," he said.
While stressing his unwillingness to issue orders to the caucus, Ma called on the caucus to make decisions with a measure of responsibility, taking into account public opinion and using reason.
KMT legislators Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) and Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) denied the caucus had "kidnapped" Ma by making a decision behind his back.
"Most of the legislators opposed the nomination of Hsieh during the caucus meeting, that's why the caucus made its decision," Wu said yesterday morning before attending the KMT's Central Standing Committee meeting.
Wu said the party had failed to give legislators more chances to express their opinions before the caucus meeting. He said the party leadership should communicate better with legislators to prevent similar incidents.
Huang did not agree that vote had been the result of miscommunication between the party and the caucus, but acknowledged that the caucus meeting had been held in a hurry.
But other KMT lawmakers feel that Ma had been "kidnapped" by those with hardline positions on political confrontation.
"Some people who recently joined the KMT from the People First Party [PFP] and the New Party have hijacked Ma. They oppose everything for the sake of opposition," Legislator Hsu Chung-hsiung (
Hsu said he would appeal to fellow lawmakers who can mediate to form a caucus sub-group to deal with their more hardline colleagues.
Hsu said hawkish legislators are using Ma to further their own interests, which would damage the party's image.
Another KMT lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he thought Ma was aware of the caucus' decision ahead of the vote.
Huang said she was very disappointed with the caucus' decision on the veto.
Meanwhile, as the KMT Central Standing Committee was taking place, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Tsai Chi-fang (
"We are afraid that Grandpa Lien will forget about the Republic of China [ROC] when he goes to China, and so we are asking him to take the national flags there and echo Ma's 1992 consensus," Tsai said in front of KMT headquarters.
Lien is leading a delegation of KMT lawmakers, academics and business executives to a two-day economic forum with the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing tomorrow. He is scheduled to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao (
The three DPP legislators urged Lien to clarify the so-called "1992 consensus" that both sides of the Taiwan Strait can interpret the meaning of "one China" separately, and stressed the existence of the ROC.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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