News of the Week(97.01.24-97.01.30)

1. KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung, Legislature Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, Presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou, and Vice Presidential candidate Vincent Siew decided in a breakfast meeting on January 23 that the KMT would be against the idea of tying the plebiscites to the Presidential election. Instead, the KMT would recommend that the new Legislature propose a binding resolution, demonstrating the fresh popular mandate to pressure the government into de-linking the plebiscites from the Presidential election. The new Legislature will be asked to pass the resolution to require the government to find ways to join or rejoin international organizations including the UN under the designation Republic of China (or our country) in accordance with the latest popular will.

2. KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung had a meeting with President Chen Shui-bian on January 24. Wu said on the following day that President Chen had mentioned his plan of proposing a defensive plebiscite incorporating the binding legislative resolution and asked for the KMT’s support in the meeting. Wu replied by saying that it would be inappropriate for an outgoing President to propose a defensive plebiscite. According to Wu, the KMT has never been against the holding of plebiscites. It is the chaos-causing tying of the plebiscites to the Presidential election that the KMT is against. The KMT hopes that the plebiscites will be separated from the Presidential election. Wu pointed out that the Central Election Commission (CEC) had the key to the controversies. “The CEC should do the decent thing to gain a better image,” said Wu.

3. DPP Presidential candidate Frank Hsieh said on January 28 that the plebiscite could not be replaced with a legislative resolution. “The DPP legislative caucus has no plan of proposing a defensive plebiscite because it is likely to result in controversies and a confidence crisis,” added Hsieh. DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming swallowed his previous words by saying, “Where do all these talks of defensive plebiscite come from? The President has never raised such an idea!”

4. The KMT Culture and Communications Committee Chairperson Huang Yu-chen revealed on January 28 that the Central Election Commission (CEC) would soon convene a meeting to discuss whether to tie the plebiscites to the Presidential election. According to Huang, the KMT has always been against the tying of a plebiscite to the Presidential election. “If the DPP has goodwill, it should immediately adjust the composition of the incumbent CEC panel and separate the plebiscites from the Presidential election to alleviate the people’s misgivings,” said Huang.

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