In a late night meeting of top DPP brass at the Presidential Office last night, participants hammered out new measures to address pressing political and economic problems facing President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) administration.
The two-hour meeting, originally planned to form a policymaking group focusing on financial and economic issues, expanded to include revision of the soon-to-be-implemented shortened workweek to a 44 hours, as well as a response to the six-point statement brought to the minority government recently by the three major opposition parties.
Specific measures include breaking into committees to study and respond to opposition parties' concerns about the constitutional system, cross-strait relations, the eradication of "black gold," financial and economic issues and 921-quake reconstruction work.
Government and DPP party leaders present at the meeting included Vice president Annette Lu (
The rampant gossip and speculation over Chen's alleged affair with an aide was also discussed.
The government and party leaders expressed their support for Lu, who denied a local magazine's allegation that she was the originator of a rumor that the president was having an affair with an aide.
Regarding the shortening of the nation's working hours, the meeting decided that the Executive Yuan should try to work out a consensus through negotiations with the ruling and opposition parties.
It was hoped that the new law would go into effective this January as was originally scheduled.
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