KMT-PFP alliance officials yesterday said they may not establish their presidential campaign headquarters until the end of this year, countering local media speculation that the SARS crisis hamstrung pan-blue preparation work for next March's election.
Budget is the main concern behind the postponement of the pan-blue headquarters, said PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄), co-convener of the KMT-PFP alliance's publication committee.
"It requires a lot of money to operate a campaign headquarters, especially as we are talking about a large-scale presidential election," Liu said. "The later we establish our headquarters, the less we need to spend in keeping it operational."
The KMT and the PFP announced in April their joint bid to team up on a single presidential ticket for next year's election. KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) will run as the presidential candidate and PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), Lien's former rival, will serve as his running mate.
Liu stressed it was no big deal for the alliance to set up its office later in the year, saying that during the 2000 presidential election the DPP's candidate Chen Shui-bian (
"Besides, just because our campaign headquarters is not yet up and running, it does not mean we are suspending all our campaign work till it is operational," Liu said.
"Various committees under the KMT-PFP alliance are continuously working away," Liu said, referring to the KMT-PFP alliance committee's eight sub-committees in charge of coordinating the alliance's bid for the presidential election next March.
Liu denied local media reports that the campaign headquarters had originally meant to be established as early as this May but was postponed by the SARS outbreak in late March.
"Ever since the formation of the alliance between the two parties and the establishment of the eight sub-committees in April, the alliance has been working on its campaign tasks despite not having a campaign headquarters," Liu said.
Affirming Liu's comments, KMT Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正) yesterday said the alliance will coordinate campaign work through the eight sub-committees until a headquarters is established.
Claiming the alliance has yet to discuss who will serve as chief campaign coordinator and advisors, Liu said personnel would not be picked until a month prior to the establishment of the HQ.
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