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Yu, Su and Hsieh register for DPP's presidential primary

Three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential hopefuls registered yesterday in the party's presidential primary while disagreeing on whether the party should elect its presidential candidate through negotiations.

Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, who was accompanied by former acting Kaohsiung mayor Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), presented themselves at the DPP headquarters for the registration yesterday. Yeh's presence raised speculation that she could be chosen as the running mate if Hsieh or Yu were to become the party's presidential candidate.

While Yeh declined to comment on her willingness to serve as vice president for either candidate, Hsieh said Yeh would be a perfect candidate as he has been considering a woman as a running mate.

"But it's too early to make a final decision as we are still in the middle of negotiations," Hsieh said.

Yu said he preferred having a woman running mate to promote the concept of "rule by both sexes" (兩性共治), but added that the party's presidential candidate should be decided by elections.

"If the candidate is elected in a democratic way, the DPP will win the presidential election. If, on the other hand, the candidate were chosen through negotiations or polls, it could be seen as a simple transfer of power," Yu said.

In response to Yu's rejection of a negotiation approach, Hsieh said that negotiations could be the best way of selecting the presidential candidate and called on hopefuls to respect President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and other DPP heavyweights who hope to use this approach.

Pledging to make Taiwan a normal country if elected president, Yu focused his criticism on Hsieh and Premier Su Tseng Chang (蘇貞昌), who registered in the primary later that day, arguing that deviating from the DPP's core values in order to please swing voters would only damage the nation.

"Some party members are departing from the mission of localizing political power and normalizing the country. It deviates from DPP's values," he said.

Hsieh, on the other hand, vowed to reform the country by ending political conflict and seeking cross-party cooperation.

Su, accompanied by his wife, daughter and supporters, arrived for the registration yesterday afternoon.

He also vowed to normalize the country.

"I always believed in adapting a middle course and being practical ... It's better to say less and do more. Just do it," he said.

DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun told the press that the party's Central Standing Committee passed a proposal at yesterday's meeting initiated by DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) which stipulated that the party should exclude "light blue" and swing voters from the poll.

The DPP will accept registrations for the primary until today. Party members will vote on presidential and legislative hopefuls on May 6, followed by polling.
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