Houston Community News >> Taiwan New Political Party

11/25/2007-- Taipei : A group of activists opposed to Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian yesterday formed a political party with the aim of fighting corruption-tainted politicians within parliament.

“The Home Party is set up to fight corruption, help minority groups and monitor the government,” said Dr Chen Yung-chang, chairman of the new political group, at an inauguration ceremony in Taipei.

He said another major task of the Home Party was to save Taiwan from being held hostage by the so-called pan-blue opposition camp and the pan-green camp that groups the president’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and pro-independence groups.

Chen Yung-chang, a physician and senior executive of an anti- presidential campaign last year, said political bickering between the pan-blue and pan-green camps in the past seven years had torn the island apart.

He was referring to the power struggle between the China-friendly opposition Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) and the pro- independence DPP, which took over from the KMT as the ruling party when Chen Shui-bian was elected president in 2000.

“We cannot tolerate the two camps’ continuing to hurt Taiwan and this is why we have decided to set up the Home Party and field candidates to run for parliamentary posts in order to do all we can to stop such a divide,” Chen Yung-chang said.

Secretary general Yao Li-ming said the Home Party was fielding 11 candidates for directly elected seats and seven for at-large seats in the 113-seat parliament in elections to be held on January 12.

The Home Party, which uses crimson as its colour, was formed by key figures of last year’s campaign to demand the resignation of President Chen over a string of corruption scandals tied to him, his family and government

(Contributed by DPA)