Frank Hsieh (
The meeting was notable for being the first time that a KMT leader has ever called upon the DPP, something that Lien pointed out while expressing his congratulations to Hsieh on the latter's inauguration as the DPP's ninth chairman.
At their meeting the two party leaders agreed to open more dialogue between the DPP and KMT and to accelerate the attainment of better interaction between parties in accordance with the principles of party politics.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
There was, however, no resolution of the issue that the meeting had actually been called to address, namely the KMT's participation in a round-table meeting of the heads of Taiwan's major political parties called by President Chen Shui-bian
Hsieh urged Lien to attend the meeting but the KMT chairman said that his attendance was dependent upon what issues were on the agenda. Lien, however, did say that KMT Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng
Lien is scheduled to depart for the US today for a month-long trip.
"It is possible that the KMT is still hesitant about attending the round-table meeting," said Wu, speaking to the media after the Hsieh-Lien meeting.
"On the basis of Lien's remarks today, however, the presidential round-table meeting will probably proceed," he said.
During the 30-minute meeting, Lien also said that parties should have mutual respect and interact in a mature fashion, while Hsieh agreed that interaction carried out in good faith would be conducive to the eradication of emotional and ideological conflicts between rival parties.
"Dialogue and exchange has been undertaken by both parties on either side of the Taiwan Strait. So why not between political parties [in Taiwan]?" Hsieh said.
Others taking part in the Hsieh-Lien meeting from the KMT included party spokesman Jason Hu (
Participants from the DPP included central standing committee member Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), social promotion department director Lee Wen-ying (李文英) and spokeswoman Phoenix Cheng (鄭運鵬).
Some political analysts saw yesterday's meeting as an attempt to highlight the importance of party politics over the "government for all the people" (
"Political interaction is very important. The concept of `government for all the people' is based on the concept of party politics," the KMT's Chen said, hinting that the new government still needed the KMT's support.
Following his meeting with Lien, Hsieh visited the Presidential Office for his weekly Wednesday meeting with President Chen. He then returned to DPP headquarters and addressed reporters again.
"The concepts of party politics and `government for all the people' are not mutually exclusive," said Hsieh, quoting remarks reportedly just made to him by the president.
Hsieh said that the president was pleased to see that the DPP and KMT had met and he hoped that there would be more harmonious political interaction. Hsieh added that the president would assign acting Secretary-General to the President Chen Che-nan (
Hsieh met with New Party leader Hau Lung-bin (
On Monday Hsieh proposed a meeting with the PFP's Chairman James Soong
Soong has said he would welcome such dialogue.
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At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
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