The five men who will arbitrate in the name of party harmony are President Chen Shui-bian, Peng Ming-min, Kao Chun-ming, Dr. Lee Yuan-tseh and Lin Yi-hsiung.

Peng, a retired professor of law, was the DPP standard bearer in 2000. Dr. Lee, a Nobel laureate, has just retired as president of Academia Sinica. Kao heads the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan, while Lin, a former DPP chairman, is respected and admired for his integrity.

They will serve as arbiters in consultations behind doors among the four contenders lest their competition against each other get out of control, South Society sources said.

The four hopefuls are Vice President Annette Lu, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, Premier Su Tseng-chang and former Premier Frank Hsieh.

No dates have been fixed for the party primaries and the nomination of the presidential candidate, but each of the four contenders, except the vice president, has already begun campaigning. A feud may be created in the run-up to the party primaries, if consultations fail, South Society sources pointed out.

The five-member team will try to prevent that, one source said. “These leaders,” he said, “will referee the game played behind doors and won’t reveal how compromise is reached to ensure the success of the election next year.”

That sounds more like the five-man team rigging the nomination.

Even after the game is over, the source said, all nine leaders are supposed to keep silent about what happens during the consultations.

“Losers have to be good losers,” the source went on. “They will have to make sure their supporters remain neutral in the lead-up to the presidential race,” he added.

Any loser who fails to do so “will face the condemnation of the people of Taiwan,” the source stressed.

No criticism of the standard bearer is allowed, the source said. Asked why the South Society made the suggestion for the five-member team, the source said: “We want to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty against any possible Chinese encroachment. We are doing this altruistically for the good of Taiwan.”

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