Efforts by DPP leaders to cool down a recent spat over the relationship between the president-elect and his deputy Annette Lu (
President-elect Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said later, however, that he hoped Lu would not complain about being too busy with her job after the inauguration ceremony in May.
Accompanying Chen on a visit to the legislature to seek support for the new government, Lu caught the spotlight when she railed about the "disparate treatment" she had to endure as a woman and as vice president-elect.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"While the vice president from the KMT [referring to Lien Chan, (
"Why am I required to pretend to be deaf and dumb (
Lu said what she raised was a "serious question" concerning the scope of the vice presidency as defined by the Constitution.
She also denied a barrage of recent reports detailing a rift between her and Chen, adding: "Please do not make an issue of it."
Chen said he believed Lu's remarks were "not a shot for her individual rights and position" but were in fact "serious questions about the Constitution."
Even so the the president-elect went on to further define his expectations for the second-in-command.
"I wish I could go abroad frequently [after becoming president] so that Lu can be the acting president [in the domestic arena]. But due to external constraints faced by Taiwan, it would be more convenient for Lu [than me] to go abroad," Chen said.
"If you [referring to Lu] find yourself swallowed up by routine affairs after being inaugurated on May 20, then you will not be saying that the vice president is voiceless," he said, drawing a roomful of laughter from surrounding reporters and legislators.
Lu also sought help from the legislators. She said if current constitutional reforms at the National Assembly, initiated by the legislature, were being made, then lawmakers could raise proposals to clarify the duties and obligations of the vice president.
Wang Jin-pyng (
"But as to how the institution would be amended, this would be left in the hands of legislators," Wang said.
Under the current constitutional framework, the vice presidential office has been a relatively powerless position that serves as a "reserve" in case the presidency is vacated by death, illness or other causes.
Lu's recent complaint about being excluded from Chen's decision making process on personnel matters for the new government has raised criticism among legislators, who said Lu had overstepped her role.
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