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Chen's remarks spark speculation

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in an interview with FTV on Thursday night said that some of the defense lawyers who represented defendants charged following the Kaohsiung Incident could become the next president and vice president, sparking speculation about his preference for a vice presidential candidate.

The Kaohsiung Incident occurred when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime broke up an anti-government parade organized by Formosa magazine in December 1979.

Chen's remark was interpreted by many as an endorsement for former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) to be the DPP's vice presidential candidate. DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Su were both defense lawyers in the court cases following the incident.

Chen also said in the interview that Hsieh "should not choose someone he likes but rather someone who can help win the presidential race."

Several DPP legislators close to Hsieh, however, dismissed speculation that Chen was giving Hsieh "hints" about who he should choose as running mate.

"Everyone can express his or her opinion," DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said when asked for comment. "But Hsieh has the final say."

Hsu said Hsieh would not be influenced by the president's comments, adding that Hsieh did not necessarily have to follow anyone's instructions.

DPP Legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) said that she believed the president did not have the ability to interfere in Frank Hsieh's decision on the matter.

DPP Legislator Lin Yu-sheng (林育生), who is close to Su, said that thee president's comment "lived up to the public's expectations," but added that there is no room for Su and Frank Hsieh to cooperate because "he has not communicated with Su for quite some time."

Su has said several times that he will not compete with former acting Kaohsiung mayor Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) for the vice presidential nomination.

Although Frank Hsieh said last Sunday that he would announce his running mate by Aug. 15 after conducting a public opinion survey, Su called the survey "unnecessary" on Wednesday.

Yeh, who has expressed her interest in being Frank Hsieh's running mate, left for the US on Thursday night to campaign for Frank Hsieh at an international Hakka assembly.

Frank Hsieh said yesterday that he agreed with the president about being strategic in his choice of a vice presidential candidate.

"It is meaningless to choose someone who cannot win the race," he said when approached by reporters in Kaohsiung.

He did not elaborate, but only said that he would consider a variety of opinions.

In related news, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said Chen is also eligible to be Frank Hsieh's running mate because the Constitution does not bar a president from becoming vice president after his or her presidential term expires.

Lu, who is on a 12-day journey to three of the nation's allies in Central America and the Caribbean, made the remark in Guatemala -- the last leg of her trip -- in response to questions about Chen's Thursday night interview.

Lu, who was the vice president of Formosa in the 1970s, was among the eight people who were jailed and became known as the Kaohsiung Eight.

Lu said Chen's comment about the defense lawyers in the incident did not exclude Chen himself, who also defended the accused.

Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) and Central Election Commission Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) were also defense lawyers in the cases, she said.

Additional reporting by CNA
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