RESIGNATION OF TWO PROMINENT DPP LEGISLATORS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003836

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2031
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: RESIGNATION OF TWO PROMINENT DPP LEGISLATORS
INCREASES PRESSURE ON CHEN


Classified By: AIT Deputy Director Robert S. Wang,
Reason 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: On November 13, DPP legislators Lin Cho-shui
and Lee Wen-chung dropped a political grenade by announcing
their resignation from the Legislative Yuan (LY),to take
effect by the end of the week. Lin and Lee are taking
responsibility for being unable to fulfill their previous
commitment that President Chen should step down if implicated
or indicted in the Presidential Office budget investigation.
DPP leaders are calling for party unity, with party Chairman
Yu Shyi-kun urging members to respect Lin and Lee's decision
and remain "calm and rational." The two resignations,
nevertheless, will add to the pressure on Chen generated most
recently by three prominent individuals and former
supporters, including former Academia Sinica President Lee
Yuan-tseh, who have called on him to consider resigning. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) In a televised press conference on November 13
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) LY members Lin Cho-shui
and Lee Wen-chung announced their intention to resign from
the LY by the end of the week. Lin and Lee said they were
taking responsibility for being unable to fulfill their
commitment that President Chen should step down if implicated
or indicted in the investigation into the Presidential Office
state affairs budget. The party's decision last week to
close ranks behind Chen despite the release of a prosecutor's
report implicating him in a corruption case against his wife
Wu Shu-chen was a disappointment to the people of Taiwan,
according to Lin and Lee. Claiming continuing loyalty toward
the DPP and unwillingness to break ranks with the party
consensus to join the opposition-led recall, Lin and Lee
vowed to continue to fight on as regular party members for
reform, clean government, and Taiwan autonomy.


3. (SBU) In response to the announcement by the two
prominent legislators, DPP leaders have called for party
unity. DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said the party respects Lin
and Lee's decision and urged all members to remain calm and
rational. He rebutted media speculation that conflict
between pro-Chen "royalists" and reformers led to Lin and
Lee's decision. Kao Chih-peng, a strong supporter of the
President, called on fellow legislators to respect Lin and
Lee's decision and to refrain from personal attacks. Kao
said he regretted their departure from the LY, but stressed
that their resignation would not have a domino effect on
other DPP legislators. Lai Ching-te, from Lin and Lee's
reform-oriented New Tide faction, expressed surprise at their
announcement, emphasizing that at this critical junction the
party needs all of its "warriors" to stay on the political
battlefield. In a note of dissonance, Legislator Kuan
Pi-ling observed the resignations showed that the party had
not been effective in communicating with intellectuals and
idealists within its ranks and needed to further reflect upon
its mistakes.


4. (SBU) Because one of the two new vacancies cannot be
filled, DPP representation in the Legislative Yuan will drop
from 85 to 84 legislators, still far more than it needs to
block the opposition's third recall against President Chen
from passing on November 24. The party is expected to move
quickly to fill Lin's representational seat. Lee holds a
district seat from Taipei County and his seat will go vacant.
Lee's resignation is also a blow to the DPP because he was
the party's leading expert on the LY Defense Committee and
had worked closely with MND or arms procurement and other
defense issues.


5. (SBU) The two resignations come as President Chen faces
renewed calls to step down from three prominent individuals
who have served the administration. Former Academia Sinica
President Lee Yuan-tseh on November 9 issued an open letter
in which he urged President Chen to "seriously consider"
resigning for the sake of the people and national stability.
Former Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Shih-meng
on November 12 urged President Chen to "temporarily leave
office" next year to wait for the court's ruling on the
indictment of his wife on corruption charges. Chen

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Shih-meng, a long-time close aid to and strong supporter,
urged the president to follow former President Chiang
Kai-shek's precedent of stepping down in the face of crisis
and returning to office if exonerated. Kao Chih-ming, a
former national policy advisor to President Chen and head of
the I-mei Corporation, has also publicly urged him to leave
office "in grievance," even though he may not be guilty, for
the sake of national stability.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) The resignations by two prominent reformist
legislators will increase pressure on President Chen to step
down. The initial reactions from other DPP LY members and
party leaders suggests that the DPP mainstream will act to
maintain unity in the run-up to the December 9 elections in
Taipei and Kaohsiung. If the DPP loses in Kaohsiung as well
as Taipei, further divisions may appear in the Green camp,
increasing the pressure on Chen to step down.
YOUNG