Wed, Aug 13, 2003 page3

• DPP losing its soul and passion: Chang

  • By Chang Yun-Ping / STAFF REPORTER
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  In what is being seen as an ominous sign of the party's election fortunes, the DPP yesterday said it welcomed the advice and criticisms of veteran party member Chang Chun-hung (張俊宏), who complained that the party has failed to thoroughly examine itself after losing a pair of important elections.

  Chang, a DPP lawmaker-at-large and one of the party's founding members, yesterday presented his letter of advice to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) -- who is also the party's chairman -- indicating that the party urgently needs to reflect on its fortunes and regain the passion to fight the campaign for next year's presidential election.

  

  DPP Central Standing Committee member Chang Chun-hung answers questions yesterday after presenting a letter of advice to President Chen Shui-bian at the party's standing committee meeting.

  PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  "The party and the administration, including myself, have never really stopped this process of re-examination. We welcome forthright admonition from party members to help us improve," Chen said after receiving Chang's letter at a meeting of the party's Central Standing Committee.

  "The ability to make constant re-examination has always been the cause that has pushed the DPP to improve itself? the party will always stick to this principle in the face of forthcoming challenges," Chen said.

  However, Chang told reporters that his attempts to reprove the party had received no support from his comrades.

  "No one stood behind me," Chang said.

  In his letter, which he said sought both the "re-examination and regeneration" of the party, Chang charged that three years in power had caused the ruling party to lose its "creativity, bravery and progressiveness" -- which were the very soul of the DPP when it was in opposition.

  Chang complained that the DPP has failed to take a hard look at itself after losing first the election for Taipei City mayor last year and the by-election for Hualien County commissioner last month.

  "Any examination of the technical faults -- including casting the blame on a belated nomination, the inexperience of the candidate, as well as the media's negative reporting -- just revealed how the DPP has copied the same self-blindness the KMT had when it lost power to the DPP [in the 2000 presidential election]," the letter said.

  "If the DPP keeps losing its soul and binds its feet to imitate the KMT, it is at risks of losing the presidential election," Chang said in his letter.

  Speaking at press conference after the committee meeting yesterday, Chang explained that he wrote the letter because "nothing is more important than winning the presidential election" and the DPP must outflank its enemy in this battle.

  "The presidential election is not a three-way race, and it will definitely be more hard-fought than the Hualien by-election for the DPP, which needs at least 51 percent of the public support to score a win," Chang warned.

  In a related matter, Chang, who is also the vice chairman of the Strait Exchange Foundation, denied that he opposed the DPP's "one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait" formula to describe this country's relations with China. Media reports that said he opposed the formula had misquoted him, he said.

  "I am a fundamental supporter of this formula." Chang said.

  "What I meant was that this old formula needs new concepts and new packaging, he said.

  "I hope by raising this topic, we could rejuvenate the spirit of this formula and win back the traditional DPP supporters which have come to lose faith in us," said Chang, implying that many die-hard DPP followers who support Taiwanese independence have become disappointed at the party's neutralizing of its pro-independence stance.

  At yesterday's Central Standing Committee meeting, Chang said he received fierce criticism from his comrades -- many of whom were annoyed by Chang's venting of his dissatisfaction through the media.

  The content of Chang's letter of advice was first published by a Chinese-language newspaper last Sunday.
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