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Taiwan Society's schedule for DPP debates finalized

With the aim of informing the public of the views of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential hopefuls, the Taiwan Society will sponsor a public debate between Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun and former DPP chairman and premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) on March 24.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had asked the society to delay the debate until next month and allow the DPP to co-organize the event, but the Taiwan Society decided to stick to its plans to hold two debates toward the end of this month.

The second debate will be held on March 31.

In a meeting Chen held with the four hopefuls on Friday night, Su said that if the party's candidate was chosen through negotiations, there would be no need for public debates. Both Lu and Yu opposed this opinion, however.

Taiwan Society Secretary-General Chet Yang (楊文嘉) said yesterday that he did not want to comment on the validity of using negotiation to select a candidate. He said, however, that voters should be given a solid basis on which to make their choice, and that public debate would serve to define the differences and similarities between the party's presidential hopefuls.

While Yu visited the Taiwan Society during the Lunar New Year holiday to express his support for public debates, Su said he would visit the society tomorrow afternoon to exchange opinions. Hsieh is expected to visit the society at a later date.

The Taiwan Society has decided that while invited guests will be allowed to ask questions and the presidential hopefuls will be free to expound on topics of their own choosing, some topics will be defined by the Taiwan Society. These topics will be announced ahead of the debate to allow the participants to prepare.

The society is discussing the feasibility of allowing the public to ask questions during the second debate.
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