g as Kuomintang presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's running mate during their meeting today. Wang said he will have to hold a further meeting with Ma along with KMT Honorary Chairman Lien Chan and the main opposition party's incumbent chief, Wu Poh-hsing, before making a decision.
Wang made the remarks coming out of a one-hour talk with Wu over the possibility of the speaker running for vice president in the KMT ticket in order to boost party unity.
The speaker later also met with Lien, but he remained uncommitted following the talk.
Wu claimed that there should be "absolutely no problem" with cooperation between Ma and Wang.
"Whether Ma and Wang will partner in the 2008 presidential poll will have to wait until the pair meet and reach a consensus," said Wu.
"We will also ask Lien Chan to give it an extra push," said the party chairman.
Wang promised that he will be engaged in an "earnest and open" talk with Ma today.
But he dismissed speculations that a final decision would have been made by the end of May.
"That (deadline) is Ma Ying-jeou's personal expectation," Wang said.
"I will meet with Lien Chan, Wu Poh-hsiung and Ma Ying-jeou again for a final round of talks over the running mate issue," Wang said.
As if he had already made up his mind, Wang said he had never made any decision and would still consider opinions from all walks of life.
He also remained reserved about the benefits of his partnership with Ma in the presidential race. Asked if a Ma-Wang ticket was in the interests of the party, Wang said it really depended on the definition of interests.
Wang said during his meeting with Lien, they did not mention the issue about Ma-Wang cooperation.
He cited Lien as saying that he hopes the KMT can win in the 2008 race, and that the party can unite.
Wang said his "collaboration" with Ma could take many different forms, but he declined to say whether a Ma-Wang ticket was one of them.
Wu said the nation is already fed up with the controversies over the possibility of a Ma-Wang ticket, and therefore the party will make an announcement as soon as any decision is made.
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