Advertisement
Advertisement

Still hope for party in presidential race: Chen

Ting Shi

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian said yesterday his ruling Democratic Progressive Party was still holding together despite its drubbing in Saturday's legislative elections and the party should not lose hope of winning the presidential election in March.

During a 90-minute refuelling stopover at Anchorage airport in Alaska, Mr Chen told American Institute in Taiwan chairman Raymond Burghardt that nobody could be sure whether the weekend result would affect the presidential election on March 22.

'The DPP hasn't been crushed by the defeat,' said Mr Chen, who is on a five-day visit to Central America and the Caribbean.

'Who will emerge as the final winner from the presidential election is still up in the air ... as long as we maintain morale,' he said.

The two elections were very different, Mr Chen said.

The legislative elections had been almost entirely local and there had been virtually no discussion of national issues such as Taiwanese identity and cross-strait relations.

Responding to repeated opposition from the United States to plans for a referendum on applying for United Nations membership in the name of Taiwan to be held alongside the presidential election, Mr Chen argued that his 2000 inauguration commitment was only valid if preconditions were met.

His 'four-no' promises - including no independence and no referendum on UN membership - could only be honoured under the context of no military intimidation of Taiwan by the mainland, he told Mr Burghardt.

However, Beijing had deployed 988 missiles on its southeast coast targeting Taiwan in 2006 and the number had jumped to 1,328 last year, he said.

He also warned that the 'four-no' pledges did not necessarily apply to the next president of Taiwan, be it DPP candidate Frank Hsieh Chang-ting or his KMT rival Ma Ying-jeou.

Mainland Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu said in Beijing yesterday that China demanded the US 'keep their promises' and not allow any opportunity for Mr Chen's separatist activities, Xinhua reported.

Post