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Ma, Lien decide to ditch presidential joint ticket strategy

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should field the candidate that has the best chance of winning the presidential election, rather than trying to coordinate a joint presidential and vice presidential ticket, former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.

Ma said that he and the KMT's honorary chairman Lien Chan (連戰) had agreed on this point after a 90-minute meeting.

The decision contradicts an earlier consensus reached by Lien, Ma, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and acting KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) last month that the KMT should field the best possible joint ticket, rather than promote a single candidate.

The joint ticket is generally believed to refer to a Wang-Ma combination, with Ma running for the presidency with Wang as his vice president, or vice versa.

Unity

Ma said he and Lien also agreed that the party needed to promote unity in its own ranks to boost its odd in the election.

Ma was indicted on Feb. 13 on corruption charges over his alleged misuse of a special allowance fund used at his discretion during his two terms as Taipei mayor from 1998 to last year.

The indictment dealt a serious blow to the KMT and prompted Ma to resign as party chairman and announce his bid to join the presidential race.

Since then, Wang, a KMT stalwart, has also reportedly shown an interest in representing the KMT in the presidential election, although he has yet to announce his bid.

In response to a question on whether Lien was likely to launch a bid to return as KMT chairman in the KMT's April 7 chairmanship by-election, Ma said that Lien had no interest in doing so.

Some KMT Legislators, including Wang, have called on Lien, who served as the party chairman from 2000 to 2005, to retake the post and help coordinate the KMT's candidates for the legislative and presidential elections.

Chairmanship

Wu said at a news conference held at KMT headquarters in Taipei yesterday that unity among party members was a key factor he would take into account when considering the question of whether to run for the KMT chairmanship.

Describing the chairmanship as an "unpleasant task," Wu said that he would be willing to take part in the party's chairmanship by-election if that was what was needed to reinforce party solidarity.

Asked when he, Lien, Ma and Wang would hold a second meeting to discuss how best to decide the KMT presidential ticket, Wu said no date has been set, but that he has always maintained smooth communication channels with Lien.
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