Lien plans victory visit to Beijing

In an acceptance speech after his nomination, Lien said his visit to China would pave the way for better relations across the Taiwan Strait, a prerequisite for the island’s economic recovery.

“If the Kuomintang wins,” Lien said, “I will make a visit of peace to the mainland in my capacity as president-elect to open up a way for our children and their children after them to continue to live in prosperity.”

He said his new government will start dialogue with Beijing in line with the consensus of 1992, a tacit agreement on one China with different interpretations, to end the current stalemate across the Strait.

“We will get all three (direct) links installed immediately,” Lien said. The three links include direct air and maritime shipping, trade and postal service.

Currently, all three services have to be indirect or rerouted via a third territory, mainly Hong Kong. The absence of the three direct links has been blamed for most of Taiwan’s economic troubles.

The Kuomintang, which lost power in 2000 after ruling Taiwan for five decades, nominated its chairman as its standard bearer for the second time to challenge President Chen Shui-bian.

Lien placed third three years ago in the election in which Chen narrowly edged out James Soong, who bolted the Kuomintang to run as an independent.

Without naming Soong, chairman of the People First Party, Lien said the Kuomintang has to work closely with the “like-minded party” to win the presidential election, now less than a year away.

Soong and Lien patched up their differences on Feb. 14 to run jointly next year. A tacit agreement requires Lien to choose Soong as his running mate.

Close to 2,000 delegates attended the one-day nomination congress at the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Museum. They clapped their hands to pass unanimously a resolution on Lien’s nomination.

Lien promised to keep the dual leadership system embodied in the Constitution to end President Chen’s “one-man” government.

According to the Constitution, the president is the head of state. The president of the Executive Yuan or premier is the head of government, who is responsible to the Legislative Yuan, where the opposition Kuomintang and People First Party have held a paper-thin majority.

Chen abused the Constitution, Lien charged. The Democratic Progressive president, he said, has ignored the duumvirate system of government in Taiwan. The abuse has resulted in political instability.

Accusing the Democratic Progressive Party of “rapprochement” with conglomerates, Lien said the new administration will make medium-sized and small businesses stand on their feet to revitalize the economy, which has been trapped in an unprecedented downturn since the change of government in 2000.

The rapprochement, Lien said, has made the rich richer and the poor poorer in Taiwan.

In an afternoon session, the Kuomintang national congress approved Lien’s nomination of Mayor of Taipei Ma Ying-jeou and Vice President of the Legislative Yuan P.K. Chiang as vice chairmen.

The party congress, that did not name Lien’s running mate, resolved to let its chairman work with the People First Party on the joint ticket for the 2004 election.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email