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President denies reports that Su tried to oust him

Following his annual medical examination at National Taiwan University Hospital yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian, center right, denies rumors that Premier Su Tseng-chang made an attempt to oust him from office. PHOTO: CNA

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday denied rumors that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had made a covert attempt to oust him from the presidential office during the anti-Chen campaign last year.

Chen was responding to several news reports yesterday which said Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) had implied in a TV interview on Tuesday night that Su had attempted to force Chen to step down last year. Chen was then the target of a campaign led by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德).

Lu said in the interview that when first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) was indicted on corruption charges in the "state affairs" fund case last November, "someone" had forced Chen to declare that he would resign if Wu were found guilty.

Lu said in the interview that the mystery figure had set two conditions and threatened to resign.

"The rumors have been very unfair to Premier Su," Chen said when approached by the media for comments yesterday. "He has discussed with me the possibility of leaving his post on four occasions."

Chen added that on each occasion he had sought to reassure Su.

"Last November we met again and he told me that he was prepared to leave for the sake of political stability. I told him that if he really wanted to maintain political stability he should not raise the subject again," Chen said.

When approached by the media after the DPP's Central Executive Committee meeting yesterday, Su said he was grateful for the president's support.

Su said he had worked hard to live up to the public's expectations since becoming premier.

"At times when I heard the rumors attempting to discredit me, I felt I had been wronged. But I have endured. I did so not only to show my character but also to foster party unity. I hope the rumors will stop," he said.

Speaking earlier yesterday, Su said it would be impossible for him to force the president from office because "the premier would be the first to go if the president resigned."

This would not be to his advantage, he said.

When approached by the media, Lu denied implicating Su.

Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said he knew nothing about the goings on in the Presidential Office last year because he had been too busy competing against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌). Hau is now the mayor.

Asked to comment, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said: "Lu's remarks were close to the truth," but refused to say whether Lu had implicated Su.

Additional reporting by Angelica Oung and CNA
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