The legislature should consider amending the law to bar presidents from simultaneously heading a political party, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday amid flagging approval ratings for President William Lai (賴清德).
Lu made the remarks on the sidelines of the East Asia Peace Forum in Taipei in response to media queries on whether Lai should resign as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman.
Lu, who was former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) vice president from 2000 to 2008, said her suggestion was not aimed at Lai.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
When Chen was simultaneously president and DPP chairman, she had told him he should be the head of state for all Taiwanese, Lu said, adding that she told former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) the same thing when she was in both roles.
The legislature should amend the Political Parties Act (政黨法) to bar presidents from leading political parties, as being involved in partisan activities is a distraction from governance, she said.
For Lai to resign as DPP chairman and be “the head of state for all Taiwanese” might help his approval rating, she added.
The Chen administration invited figures from outside the DPP to join the Cabinet, including making retired air force general Tang Fei (唐飛) premier, Lu said.
Governance is not an election campaign and working alongside talented people without regard for their political affiliation would boost popular support and national unity, she said.
While Lu has not officially withdrawn from the DPP, in May 2018 she said that it had lost its founding spirit.
Asked about foreign affairs, Lu said that exchanges via non-governmental channels are a vital part of diplomacy, citing her trip to South Korea to attend an Armistice Day event, commemorating the deal in 1953 that ended fighting in the Korean War.
All Taiwanese can be ambassadors for the nation, she said, adding that organizers of the Armistice Day event flew a Republic of China flag.
In her speech at yesterday’s forum, which was hosted by non-profits affiliated with Lu, she called for support for the Democratic Asia Union.
Asia should establish a cooperative framework, as Europe has done, to enable peace, prosperity and political influence from a region that boasts one-quarter of the world’s population, she said.
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