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DPP caucus urges action to stop infighting

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday threatened to refer DPP presidential aspirants who continue to attack their competitors to the party's Central Disciplinary Committee for punishment.

DPP legislative caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) told a press conference that if any member from one of the four presidential campaigns were to hold another press conference or distribute flyers attacking the other aspirants, the caucus would demand that the party's Central Standing Committee discipline the offending contender.

"Once again, I would like to call for party unity, because this is our only party asset," he said. "We came to power because we were united, and we can only stay in office by sticking together. Therefore, I would like to urge everyone to consider the implications to the DPP's image when making comments."

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) are competing for the party's presidential nomination.

Showing reporters copies of the party's platform, Wang said that the caucus' action was based on Article 29 of the platform, which includes a clause stipulating that party members whose comments or behavior go against the platform or the party's resolutions or damage the party's reputation are subject to punishment.

When asked by reporters whether such a countermeasure would have any effect, given that the president's previous two calls for an end to the bickering between its presidential contenders seems to have been ignored, Wang said that the measure was "worth a try."

When approached for comment, DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), who doubles as director of the DPP's disciplinary committee, said he hoped the four contenders would restrain themselves rather than risk party discipline.

In related news, Hsieh said yesterday that he believed President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would maintain impartiality during the DPP's presidential primary.

When asked to comment on a report in yesterday's Chinese-language United Daily News which quoted Hsieh's spokesman Lu Tien-lin (盧天麟) as saying that Chen, Su and the DPP's former New Tide faction had allied against him, Hsieh said the president had told him that he did not favor any one aspirant over the others.

"I believe what the president told me, rather than in hearsay," he said at a campaign event in Kaohsiung.
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