A high-ranking government official confirmed yesterday that President Chen Shui-bian (
The meeting, set to be held at the Presidential Office and open to the press, will touch on issues like problems with the constitutional system and financial policies.
Secretary-General to the President Yu Shyi-kun told reporters at his regular weekly press conference yesterday that the president expects to exchange views with Lien on cross-strait relations, financial and economic issues, post-earthquake reconstruction, inter-party cooperation and the eradication of shady connections between politics and organized crime, often called "black gold" politics.
"The president originally planned to pay a visit to Lien at KMT headquarters near the Presidential Office. However, Lien expressed his wish to meet Chen at the Presidential Office to show his respect for the country's head of state," Yu said.
Yu said that the "Bian-Lien meeting" (
After a closed-door meeting with the party's lawmakers yesterday morning, Lien said the KMT was looking forward to the meeting but was only concerned with the nation's well-being and constitutional system, not the acquisition of government posts.
"I expect to discuss with the president the correct operation of government systems, however, I will not talk about the possibility of organizing a `coalition government' at the meeting," Lien said.
"This is a fundamental issue related to the operation of our overall political system and governing mechanism," Lien said.
As for financial and economic topics, Lien said he will focus on major policy issues and will present feasible strategies to help resolve current financial market woes.
However, Yu said that Chen will impose no limits on topics to be raised and discussed, just like the previous two meetings the president had with the heads of the two other opposition parties.
In a bid to end political squabbling and promote rapprochement and cooperation among major domestic political parties, Chen met with the PFP's Soong and the New Party's Hao during closed-door meetings at the Taipei Guest House last week.
The KMT, however, requested three conditions before promising to hold the "Bian-Lien meeting," saying the meeting should be held at Presidential Office during working hours and be completely open to the media.
"We hope that people can clearly and fully hear what Lien and Chen discuss," said KMT Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正), "and not through second-hand communication by other officials."
Yu and Deputy Secretary-General to the President Chen Che-nan (陳哲男), as well as Lin and KMT spokesman Jason Hu (胡志強) will also be present at the high-profile Chen-Lien meeting.
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