President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday canceled a meeting amid wrangling between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and ex-party chairman Yu Shyi-kun.
Chen was scheduled to receive foreign guests attending this year's Biotechnology Taiwan at 11am at the Presidential Office, but called it off at the last minute.
National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen (
Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (
Lee said the president had canceled the 11am meeting because the previous engagement dragged on too long.
The president usually meets the secretary-general and two deputy secretary-generals at around 10am to discuss current events.
Lee declined to comment on whether the three officials had touched on the controversy surrounding the DPP's "normal country" resolution, which passed the DPP national congress on Sunday.
Yu, who preferred more explicit rhetoric, has resigned over the controversy despite calls for him to stay.
He has refused to comment on the matter since his resignation.
Hsieh, who was scheduled to attend a campaign rally that was to follow the congress meeting on Sunday, stunned the party when his decision not to show up was announced by Yeh.
Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu, however, invited Cohen to attend a seminar held at the Presidential Office to discuss democratization in Myanmar.
Lu announced after the event that the Pacific Network for Democracy in Burma would be established under the Democratic Pacific Union, Lu's brainchild.
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