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Wu brushes off speculation of rift with president

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday dismissed concerns about his relations with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) after Ma promised not to adopt "one-party" rule under his administration. Wu added, however, that the ruling party and the government were closely connected.

The government should cooperate with the KMT closely in order to fulfill campaign promises and meet the public’s expectations, Wu said.

“There must be a line between the party and the administration, but the two are not separate individuals,” Wu said yesterday during a meeting held by the party with local government heads in Hsinchu County.

“The administration and the party should be complementary and should join forces,” Wu said.

Ma had promised that “one-party dominance” would not appear under a KMT government after winning the presidential election on March 22.

'FULL RESPONSIBILITY'

With the KMT controlling both the executive and legislative branches of government, Ma said the KMT government would “take full responsibility” for its performance from now on.

Ma’s insistence on leaving the KMT out of the government’s decision-making process, however, has drawn growing complaints from party members, who say that Ma has ignored the party’s contributions during the election campaign.

In response to his alleged problematic relations with Ma in the wake of the dispute, Wu said that the KMT had always been supportive of Ma and his administration, and the party would spare no efforts to help the government turn campaign promises into policies.

'UNFEASIBLE'

“The ‘one-party dominance’ is not feasible anymore. We will draw up reasonable principals defining the duties of the party and the administration,” he said.

Ma, however, did not attend the party’s regular meeting yesterday.

He sent Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and other Cabinet members to communicate with pan-blue local government heads instead.

“The KMT shouldered a great deal of pressure as the ruling party. We want to see the government perform well more than anyone else,” Wu said.

At the meeting, local government heads including Taoyuan County Commissioner Chu Li-lun (朱立倫) suggested that Ma and the Cabinet should communicate with the local governments more often to seek better cooperation.
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