President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday crushed speculation that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has set a campaign theme for the legislative elections of terminating a system run by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
Chen yesterday said the DPP had, over the years, sought to terminate the authoritarian system, but it never meant to terminate the "Lien-Soong system."
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The comments came in response to rumors that began to spread after the DPP's Information and Culture Department Director Cheng Wen-tsan (
"Over the past two decades, we've successfully ended the authoritarian system. Please do not mistake the termination of the authoritarian system with that of the Lien-Soong system ... our goal is to help all of our candidates get elected, so as to achieve majority in the legislature and thus enhance the governability of the administration," Chen told a press conference at DPP headquarters yesterday.
The conference was held to announce the platforms of four candidates, who have decided to run a joint campaign.
Cheng was reported to have told the media on Sunday that the DPP's main goal for the legislative campaign was to terminate the "Lien-Soong system" and the "post-March 20 atmosphere," in which the pan-blue alliance charged the DPP had rigged the presidential election results.
Cheng's comments triggered strong reaction from many party members, who said that the plan undermined the DPP's vision. Some even said Lien and Soong's careers were already destroyed, and it didn't take the DPP to terminate them.
In his capacity as party chairman, Chen yesterday endorsed the joint campaign agreement by the four DPP candidates in Taipei County's 3rd electoral district, where the party has always been outperformed, in the traditionally pro-blue Chungho, Yungho and Hsintien areas.
"The year-end legislative elections can't be won with the victories of individual candidates: our goal is to allow all of our candidates be elected.
Individual candidates should not seek to boost the highest votes for him or herself, rather, everyone should work together towards the goal of securing the legislative majority," Chen said.
The joint campaign by definition means that candidates from the same party agree to campaign as a single ticket, de-emphasize campaigning for individual candidates, and adopt strategies of "vote allocation," which aims to distribute votes evenly between candidates to maximize the number of seats won.
The party yesterday said it would not rule out the possibility that DPP candidates working with its strategic partner the Taiwan Solidarity Union in joint campaigns to seek to maximize the number of seats won by the pan-green camp.
Party officials yesterday also passed a resolution at the Central Executive Committee meeting to demand the passage of the following bills in the upcoming interim legislative sitting: halving the number of legislative seats, reforming the current legislative electoral system into "single-member districts and a two-vote system," enshrining the referendum on the Constitution, as well as abolishing the National Assembly.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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