President Chen Shui-bian (
The source told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) that Chen believes that although the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chooses its candidates during private meetings of the party's leaders, the DPP should follow a democratic system to select its candidate.
Chen said that barring voluntary withdrawals by the present candidates, it is a likely possibility that the party will proceed with a primary.
PHOTO: LIU YUAN-YU, TAIPEI TIMES
The announcement signals a change of heart by Chen, who earlier this month held two-closed door meetings with party presidential hopefuls in which he tried to persuade some of the candidates to drop out of the race.
The president's first effort on March 9 failed as DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun stuck to his guns, insisting that a primary be held to determine the party's presidential candidate because the candidates' policies differed widely.
Vice President Annette Lu (
In the second round of negotiations on Wednesday, all four agreed to participate in campaign debates and that they would neither withdraw from the DPP nor run on their own if they did not secure the party's nomination.
Chen said that it was perfectly normal that the four candidates should have their own plans and ideas.
He said that the DPP, as a diverse and democratic party, should respect differing opinions instead of seeing them as a hinderance.
While Chen said that at the present time he would make no third attempt to coordinate among the candidates, he also said he would be willing to get involved again if the situation changed.
As to concerns that a primary could disrupt party unity and threaten the DPP's chances in next year's election, Chen reiterated that all the candidates had signed a pledge not to run as an independent and to do everything possible to support the party's candidate if not selected.
Chen said that the primary could be preceded by a televised debate, which would give the four aspirants a chance to elaborate on their views, vision of the nation's future and position on crucial issues, and that they would also face a public review of their political history.
Chen urged the candidates to accept the challenge, saying that the most valuable aspect of the DPP is that by selecting the most democratic procedures, the party makes sure that its goals do not stray from public opinion.
Under a DPP timetable for the presidential primary, members of the party will vote on presidential and legislative hopefuls on May 6, to be followed by a series of public opinion polls to test their candidates' support.
The votes of party members will account for 30 percent of a would-be candidate's score, while public opinion poll results will account for 70 percent. The presidential aspirant who receives the highest approval rating will be named the party's candidate on May 30.
Su yesterday received the backing of President Chen's mentor, Lee Hung-hsi (李鴻禧).
When Su was on the campaign trail in Taipei County yesterday, Lee told the crowd that he wouldn't have stepped up to support Su if Su was "irreverent" to Chen.
"You all know how I esteem Chen," Lee said.
"If Su was irreverent to Chen, I wouldn't have given him my support today, but spit at him instead," he said.
Su has been alleged to have tense relations with Chen because of their different approaches regarding cross-strait relations.
Describing the other DPP presidential aspirants as "magnificent hopefuls," Lee called for unity and harmony among all party members to help secure victory in next year's presidential election.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and CNA
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