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DPP finalizes design for primary poll

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday finalized the design for the public survey that comprises part of its presidential primary by passing a proposal initiated by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) at the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting.

The proposal, which was made public on Monday, was designed to exclude voters from the primary poll who would never vote for the DPP in the presidential election -- estimated at about 30 percent of voters -- while surveying pan-green and swing voters.

Acting DPP Chairman Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) told a press conference that the proposal received affirmative votes from the majority of the committee members at the meeting, but he declined to specify the number of affirmative and dissenting votes.

But CEC member Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said that DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, a presidential hopeful, was the only one who voted against the proposal.

CEC member Huang Ching-lin (黃慶林), who said he would oppose the proposal on Tuesday, did not vote, Chiu said.

The result of the vote will be referred to the party's Central Standing Committee for verification next Wednesday.

When approached by the press after the meeting, Yu said everyone knew how much pressure party officials were under, but he did not elaborate on the source of the pressure.

"I want to tell everyone that during last year's anti-Chen campaign [led by former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德)], I stood by [my ideals] and I also forged a path for the DPP," he said.

"For the sake of the DPP and Taiwan, I will persist [in following my ideals]. I ... I can only say the public will pass its own judgment," he said, choking up.

When Presidential Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) solicited endorsements for the proposal from the CEC's 35 members on Monday, the proposal was supported by two DPP presidential hopefuls -- Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷). However, the other two contenders, Yu and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) were kept in the dark about the proposal.

Yu's campaign staff said on Tuesday that the DPP chairman believed it was only necessary to poll pan-green voters. They said the chairman thought the party needed to ensure that its presidential candidate represented the DPP's core values.

When a vote on the proposal was initiated at yesterday's meeting, Su, Lu and Hsieh had already left.

The vote was called because those present at the meeting could not agree about whether the CEC had the authority to discuss the design of the primary poll, as the party's nomination regulations stipulate that the party's poll center should present a scheme to the DPP Central Standing Committee instead.

Huang told the media after the meeting that he questioned the legitimacy of the CEC handling the proposal.

"I would like to defend the DPP's core values," Yu said. "Democracy means party politics. Every party needs to have its own ideals."

"In the primary, the party has to elect someone who can stand for the party's core values while trying to persuade the public to support the party in the presidential election," he added.

Earlier yesterday, Yu said he felt he had been disrespected when Chiou sought endorsement for Chen's proposal.

"But I am only one man," Yu said. "There is only so much I can do to turn the tide."

Yesterday's meeting left the schedule for holding a national assembly and designing a primary poll for district legislators to next week's Central Standing Committee meeting, Chai said.

Such an assembly is required because a proposal initiated by Huang had been endorsed by the requisite number of district headquarters' executive committees.
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