Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said it was not healthy for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to have one single dominating faction.
Lu has signed up for the election of the party's Central Executive Committee members. She said she decided to run for the position because many people saw a “deviation” in the DPP's direction and organization and asked her to join the race to contribute to the party.
The DPP will hold its national congress on Sunday to elect members of its Central Executive Committee, Central Standing Committee and Central Review Committee.
Lu said she had a high opinion of DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) leadership and performance over the past two years, but she thought the party could do better.
One of the problems she cited was the declining number of party members, saying it was not healthy for the DPP to have one dominant faction.
Lu said her election bid had been an “eye-opener” because she had never run for party positions and was still learning the ropes.
“I feel like Granny Liu (劉姥姥) visiting Daguan Park,” she said. “I'm not sure whether I will prevail, but I don't give a thought for personal gain or loss.”
Granny Liu is a character in the Chinese classic novel, Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢).
Since Lu does not have a close relationship with any party faction, some said they were curious about where and how she would get support.
In other developments, the DPP yesterday passed a resolution forbidding its candidates from taking part in cross-party election groups.
The decision, made after a meeting of the Central Standing Committee, is widely believed to be aimed at former president Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中),who is running for Kaohsiung City councilor as an independent. He forms part of a group called “one side, one country” that a number of DPP candidates have reportedly joined.
DPP spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) denied the connection between the “one side, one country” group and the resolution, saying it was just repeating old party regulations.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO
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