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President supports retaining Wu as KMT chairman

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that he had no intention of taking the helm of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), but it would be worth discussing whether the president should be allowed to also serve as party chairman after KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung’s (吳伯雄) term expires in May.

Ma said he had never planned to double as party chairman and that Wu has his full support. He said the interaction between the party and the administration has improved in recent months.

“It is getting better and more satisfactory,” Ma said during a question-and-answer session with the media at the Presidential Office.

He remained evasive, however, about whether he would support Wu’s re-election bid, saying next May’s election is a long way away.

Amid speculation that the KMT is planning to amend its charter to allow the president to concurrently serve as party chairman, Ma said the idea was worth discussing but he was not in favor of any specific reform proposal.

“Sure, we can talk about whether we should change the way the party chairman is chosen when the party is in power or in opposition,” he said, “but right now I support Wu as the party chairman.”

As for the effort to procure arms from the US, Ma said Washington should know what to do with Taipei’s request, as the US Congress is set to go into a recess later this month.

Ma said his administration has sent a request for seven items of defensive weaponry to Washington. US law requires that the list should be submitted to Congress by the end of this month, he said.

Ma said his administration has tried to push the purchase plan, which has the full backing of the legislature and his government, even though it was finalized by the Democratic Progressive Party government.

“The US government fully understands our attitude, so now it is up to them,” he said.

Ma had previously said that all signs indicated the White House would soon ask Congress to complete the necessary legal procedures for the seven items.
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