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Vice president downplays survey proposal controversy

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday tried to downplay the controversy surrounding a survey design proposed by the Presidential Office and endorsed by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).

Speculation has mounted that the proposal was designed to force Lu and DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun out of the race.

Lu yesterday said that she and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) talked about the issue when they met for lunch on Monday.

"If those who wish to lead the country are bothered by such small matters, it means they don't have much confidence in themselves," she said.

Lu, who visited Taichung City and county yesterday, made the comments during a tea party with reporters yesterday afternoon in Taichung City.

Lu did not criticize the survey but insinuated that Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) was behind it.

Chiou on Monday obtained the endorsement of Su and Hsieh for a proposal on conducting the polls. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential primary is decided by a party member vote and a public survey.

The Presidential Office began soliciting signatures from the DPP's Central Executive Committee's (CEC) 35 members to endorse the proposal so that it could pass today's committee meeting.

Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said on Monday that the survey was designed to screen out voters who support the pan-blue camp and only include those who hold the political views of the pan-green camp.

He said the poll was expected to survey 20 percent of pan-green supporters and 50 percent of "moderate" voters, while the remaining 30 percent of pan-blue supporters would be screened out.

Lu said that if the speculations about the survey proposal were true, she believed it was not President Chen's idea but that of his advisers. She also criticized those who spread the rumor that the president had come up with the proposal to exclude "two people" from the race.

"I believe the president will handle the matter fairly," she said, adding that no one should manipulate the process in an unfair manner.

Chen Chi-mai said yesterday that the Presidential Office had made some mistakes with the handling of the the survey proposal, including not consulting with Lu.

However, Chen Chi-mai said the proposed format was aimed at winning the election and not at benefitting a specific candidate.

He said that 28 of the CEC members had endorsed the proposal as of yesterday.

Meanwhile, Lu implied yesterday that she would make a better president than her male rivals.

"It is not too much to let a woman govern the country, is it?" she said. "My seven-year stint [as vice president] has prepared me for the county's top job. The others are not ready and it's too late."

Lu, the only DPP presidential hopeful who skipped Saturday's TV debate, said that the public would form their own opinions about her male contenders at the debate, but emphasized that she was more senior and experienced than the other three candidates.
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