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Hsieh gives up CEO proposal in face of KMT's opposition

"The CEO idea should stop here because now that the KMT has rejected talks on the matter, any entrepreneur nominated would face a KMT boycott."

Frank Hsieh, DPP presidential candidate

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for rejecting his idea of appointing someone with a background as a top business executive to serve as premier.

"I can't continue to push for [the CEO plan] anymore because the KMT has spoken against it," Hsieh said when approached by the press for comment during his visit to Lee Kun-yao (李焜耀), chairman of AU Optronics Corp (友達光電).

Last week, Hsieh suggested to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) that he should negotiate with the KMT, which will hold a two-third majority in the new legislature following its Jan. 12 electoral victory, on selecting a CEO as premier.

He said the suggestion was made out of concern for "political continuity."

"If the KMT had accepted the CEO plan, we wouldn't see another appointment of a new premier three months from now [after the May 20 presidential inauguration], regardless of who wins the presidential election," Hsieh said.

Hsieh said yesterday that his CEO proposal was "meaningless" without the KMT's support and participation, adding that "no CEO would accept a three-month premier position."

"Moreover, it would be a very tough three-months for any CEO [in terms of interacting with the legislature]," Hsieh said.

"The CEO idea should stop here because now that the KMT has rejected talks on the matter, any entrepreneur nominated would face a KMT boycott," he said.

Responding to KMT criticism that the DPP had never asked it for opinions about Cabinet appointments during its seven years of administration, Hsieh said: "That was because that the KMT was not the single largest party in the legislature."

The KMT refused to discuss appointments for the new Cabinet during a meeting between KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and the president on Thursday.
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