Brushing off speculation that he would replace Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Chen visited his hometown in Tainan County yesterday to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a cultural park in the historic township of Matou (麻豆).
Asked by the media whether he intended to replace Su, Chen said "nobody has ever said such a thing."
"Premier Su is doing such a good job that he deserves the continued support of everybody," Chen said.
Speculation has mounted that Chen was considering replacing Su as the Rebar Group saga unfolds.
Chen had expressed concern over the case on several occasions during his trip last week to Nicaragua, where he attended the inauguration of President Daniel Ortega.
He telephoned Su from Nicaragua on Wednesday, asking him to conduct a full-scale inquiry into the case and find out which government officials should be held responsible.
During a closed-door luncheon with party officials in Tainan, Chen called for unity, saying that he hoped party members would refrain from attacking each other.
Chen also told the guests that his administration would not allow problematic businesses to drag down the nation's economy.
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday also voiced her support for the premier, saying she believed Su would be able to handle the Rebar scandal well.
While opposition parties have demanded Su and Chen shoulder responsibility for the scandal, Lu said that the public should be more supportive of those who were willing to work to solve the problem.
Lu made the remarks while inspecting the Taoyuan station of the high speed rail.
Lu said that although the system has some initial problems, she believed they would gradually be fixed. She called on the public to have faith in the system and offer more encouragement than criticism.
Separately, Chen, who returned on Saturday, told reporters that he had seen his newborn granddaughter after his arrival and that she looked like his daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚).
Huang gave birth to the first family's first granddaughter while Chen was in San Francisco en route to Nicaragua.
Chen said they have yet to come up with a name for his granddaughter and that they are open to suggestions.
Chen also said that he has asked somebody to look for an apartment in Kaohsiung and that he would keep his promise to live there.
Chen said before last year's mayoral elections that he was fond of Kaohsiung and would like to live there if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the election.
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