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Chen considering changes to legislative election lineup

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that he would not rule out making changes concerning who would represent the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the legislative elections slated for January.

The president made the remarks amid reports that he had persuaded Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉), a former legislator who also served as chairman of the Council for Hakka Affairs, to run in the Da-an District (大安) constituency of Taipei City, which has traditionally been a stronghold of the pan-blue alliance led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Media reported that Luo had been hand-picked by Chen to replace Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜), a former aide of Luo's.

Luo, considered a maverick within the party for his outspoken attitude, failed to get nominated as a DPP candidate for the coming legislative elections mainly because of a grass-roots campaign against him and 10 other incumbent or former DPP legislators.

The campaigners branded the politicians the "11 bandits," calling them "traitors of Taiwan" for publicly criticizing DPP policies.

The campaign against the politicians, led by a radio show, called for a boycott against them during the hotly contested legislative primaries earlier this year, accusing the "bandits" of befriending pro-unification media and echoing the views of the pan-blue camp.

Chen said yesterday that the DPP's strength lay in that it "tolerates and respects" different opinions, adding that the DPP was not a "one-man party" or a party with "a uniform voice."

"Luo's remarks in the past may have upset some party members, but he made them for my sake and the sake of the party and Taiwan," Chen said.

Chen said that since taking over the helm of the party earlier this week, he had concentrated on uniting the party, adding that he would work to "retrieve all those whom the party has lost."

He said that former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun's "blitz" campaign strategy -- modeled on young professional "assassin" candidates recruited by then Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2005 to beat veteran rivals in general elections -- had its advantages, but "for the sake of victory, I'm not ruling out the possibility of making changes."

"But since the nomination of DPP candidates has been completed for all the constituencies, I'll only make minimal changes in a few constituencies, if I do in fact make any changes," he said.

He said that Luo was willing to run in a tough constituency and that the party should "welcome him" for his devotion to the party and the nation.

Meanwhile, Luo said on his blog yesterday that after days of deliberation, he was willing to run in the Daan constituency. He also urged party members to see "different opinions" as an asset rather than a liability.

Kao, the DPP nominee for the Da-an constituency, said in a statement issued yesterday on her blog that she "cannot and will not withdraw from the elections" and that she had not received any information about candidate changes.

Kao said that because she had been nominated through a democratic and legitimate process, she would not give up lightly her pledge to win for the party in the constituency.
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