A meeting by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) bigwigs on presidential nominations failed to reach any conclusion yesterday, leaving the issue unresolved until after the Lunar New Year holidays.
The meeting was arranged by former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
After a two-hour meeting, Lien, Wang, Ma, KMT Acting Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
However, issues discussed in the meeting, including whether or not Ma and Wang would pair up in the presidential election and whether Lien would take over the chairmanship, remained to be resolved.
Amid cries from a group of supporters of "Lien Chan returns to the KMT as party chairman to save Taiwan!" Lien described the meeting as a "good start" for further dialogue, but declined to confirm whether he would accept Wang's offer to take over Ma's post.
"The meeting has reached some consensus, and the KMT will continue our efforts for the sake of Taiwan and such efforts will not stop until we reach our goal," Lien said after the meeting.
As the meeting apparently failed to persuade Ma and Wang to pair up in the presidential election, Lien asked the two to "think deeply for the country and the people during the Lunar New Year holidays and until more practical negotiations are arranged," according to the written consensus.
Swamped by reporters for comments, Ma declined to confirm whether or not he was considering leaving the KMT to run in the presidential election as an independent, while Wang said further negotiations would determine whether or not the party would present a "Wang-Ma" or "Ma-Wang" presidential ticket.
Lien agreed to arrange negotiations on the KMT's presidential nomination after Wu paid a visit to his office on Wednesday.
He had said that Ma's declaration of his presidential bid had "limited" the negotiating space between Ma and Wang, who has hinted at a presidential bid of his own, and could cause a pan-blue split if he insists on running as a KMT candidate.
Before heading to the meeting yesterday morning, Wang called a press conference calling on Lien to reassume the party chairmanship, as a way to "help the party in the best way."
"I offered the suggestion in the meeting. Lien answered with a smile without saying yes or no. But [the suggestion] seemed fine and acceptable to everyone," Wang said when approached by the press in the legislature after the meeting.
Wang said that the question of who should be the party's candidates and the removal of the black-gold exclusion clause were not the subjects of the meeting.
"We talked about the development of the party, not personal problems," Wang said.
Wang added that the meeting was a "very important gathering" for the party because it "created a good basis" for unity and cooperation.
The KMT's handling of party affairs related to the presidential nomination in the wake of Ma's indictment on corruption charge sparking quarrels between the Ma and Wang camps.
"In his opening remarks [in the meeting], Lien urged staff of both camps not to criticize each other and we both promised [Lien]," Wang said.
There has been speculation about hidden animosity between Wang and Ma ever since they competed for the KMT chairmanship in June 2005.
"There has been no feud between us [Ma and Wang]." Wang said.
Meanwhile, Ma and Wang will meet again on Monday as both have been invited to attend a day of Buddhist activities and a dinner gathering at Wu's residence in Jhongli (
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