Hsieh Hsin-ni, the DPP propaganda chief, said yesterday that Lee, who is scheduled to arrive back from a tour abroad this morning, will start the meeting at once.

There is going to be a cross-fertilization of ideas about how to rehabilitate and rebuild the now down and trodden party, albeit its standard-bearer Frank Hsieh was able to keep its traditional voter support.

That support represents at least 40 percent of the eligible voters. Hsieh won more than 41 percent of all the votes cast on Election Day.

"It's a group discussion," Hsieh said. "Those who participate will then decide when a general meeting will be held and set the agenda for that meeting," he added.

In addition to the secretary-generals, all DPP chairmen, past and current, will take part in the general meeting.

In fact, DPP sources said, the general meeting aims at ending the power struggle triggered by the March 22 rout.

Hsieh resigned as DPP chairman to take responsibility for the loss but was urged to stay on until May 25 when a national party congress will take place to elect his successor.

Though he claimed he would never run for public office again, Hsieh is believed to be maneuvering to keep his DPP leadership.

President Chen Shui-bian, who has to step down on May 20, wants to remain a DPP king maker, trying to put up a frontman to challenge Hsieh.

Yu Shyi-kun, who had to resign as DPP chairman on indictment for corruption last year, wants to get that job back, though he denied openly he would run for that party office.

So did Su Tseng-chang, Hsieh's running mate. But Su began stumping the DPP strongholds in southern Taiwan under the pretext that he had to thank his supporters in the presidential election.

Hsieh himself is doing the same.

Su also denied he is courting cooperation with the former New Tide faction of the party. That denial has made Tuan Yi-kang, a former lawmaker and the current leader of the officially non-existent faction, a contender for DPP chairmanship.

No one is sure who is going to win in the May 25 election, but one thing is certain: whoever wins is facing a daunting task of reforming the DPP into a better opposition party that has to wait for at least four years to return to power.