The Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) spiritual leader, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), yesterday turned down party Chairman Shu Chin-chiang's (蘇進強) offer to resign to assume responsibility for the TSU's failure in Saturday's municipal elections.
Shu's offer was unanimously approved by the party's Central Executive Committee in yesterday's meeting, but Lee said that whether Shu should resign was not the question, TSU Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) told the press after the members' visit to Lee's residence yesterday afternoon.
Party members went to seek Lee's counsel after the committee meeting at noon.
Lin added that Lee said the party did not have to be disbanded because of its failure in the elections.
Instead, the party should "assume its responsibility to the public" by focusing its future approach on caring about the nation's minorities who have been ignored by the two major political parties, Lin said.
Lee also said that the TSU's personnel system should be adjusted, Lin added.
Lin said the party's legislators also made an agreement during the talk with Lee that they would not withdraw from the party and that the TSU would not merge with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Earlier yesterday, Lin told the media after the committee meeting that the party respected Shu's decision, but that they have to request and respect Lee's instructions on the TSU's future approach.
TSU caucus whip Liao Pen-yen (
"Shu was not reluctant to leave his position. Therefore, we should not stop him from leaving," he said.
"We have to set a model or how are we going to lead the party [in the future]?" he said.
Shu had said before the elections that he would resign if the TSU did not win more than five city councilor seats in Taipei and Kaohsiung.
The party, however, only secured two councilor seats in Taipei and one in Kaohsiung.
Its Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Lo Chih-ming (
Shu said last Saturday that Lee's absence during the campaign should not be a reason why the TSU did not prevail in the elections.
Instead, the TSU was marginalized because of the fierce battle between the nation's two largest political parties -- the DPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), he said.
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