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Taiwanese party meets over crisis Taiwan's Chen wins party backing
(about 7 hours later)
Taiwan's ruling party is meeting to discuss its next move, amid claims of graft against President Chen Shui-bian. Taiwan's ruling party has said it fully backs President Chen Shui-bian, despite corruption allegations against him.
More than 100 senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will meet in what analysts say is largely an exercise in damage control. More than 100 senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) met to discuss the allegations, its worst crisis since its founding 20 years ago.
Senior officials said they accepted Mr Chen's explanations and would oppose opposition attempts to oust him.
Government prosecutors said last week that they had enough evidence to charge the president with corruption.Government prosecutors said last week that they had enough evidence to charge the president with corruption.
The opposition has called for Mr Chen to step down, and he needs his party's backing to survive a move to oust him. Wednesday's meeting was the DPP's first since President Chen gave a speech on Sunday, in which he proclaimed his innocence against the allegations being levelled against him.
Wednesday's meeting will be the DPP's first since President Chen gave a speech on Sunday, in which proclaimed his innocence against the allegations of corruption being levelled against him. He strongly denied personally pocketing any money and blamed poorly-defined and conflicting regulations surrounding the use of a special state affairs fund.
Mr Chen cannot be prosecuted while in office as he is protected by presidential immunity, but his wife and three ex-aides have already been charged with the misuse of state funds. Mr Chen cannot be prosecuted while in office as he is protected by presidential immunity, but his wife and three ex-aides have been charged over the alleged misuse of nearly $500,000 of state funds.
National referendum Recall motion
The main opposition Kuomintang party will formally propose the recall motion against the president in parliament on Friday. Following a three-hour meeting, party chairman Yu Shyi-kun said the DPP would not take disciplinary action against the president since he had promised to step down if his wife is found guilty of wrongdoing.
SCANDAL TIMELINE March 2004: President Chen narrowly wins re-electionMay 2006: President's son-in-law held over insider trading claims. Charged in JulyAllegations of improper conduct involving Chen's wife and senior aides also surfaceJune: Chen cedes some powers to PM amid outcryUnprecedented opposition motion to oust him, which failsSeptember: Two weeks of pro and anti-Chen marchesOpposition launch new bid to recall Chen. Again failsOctober: Wu Shu-chen cleared of accepting shop vouchers in return for influenceNovember: Wu Shu-chen charged with corruption over handling of secret presidential fundsProsecutors say enough evidence to indict Chen, but he is protected by presidential immunity Testing timesSCANDAL TIMELINE March 2004: President Chen narrowly wins re-electionMay 2006: President's son-in-law held over insider trading claims. Charged in JulyAllegations of improper conduct involving Chen's wife and senior aides also surfaceJune: Chen cedes some powers to PM amid outcryUnprecedented opposition motion to oust him, which failsSeptember: Two weeks of pro and anti-Chen marchesOpposition launch new bid to recall Chen. Again failsOctober: Wu Shu-chen cleared of accepting shop vouchers in return for influenceNovember: Wu Shu-chen charged with corruption over handling of secret presidential fundsProsecutors say enough evidence to indict Chen, but he is protected by presidential immunity Testing times
If it passes, the motion will trigger a national referendum on whether to get rid of the president. "Because of the president's promise, there is no need for the party to take measures against him," Mr Yu told reporters.
But although the opposition parties have a small majority in parliament, they need at least 14 ruling party members to back the motion in order for it to succeed - and the last two attempts, in June and October, failed as all Mr Chen's DPP colleagues stood by him. The party said it will also oppose a third attempt by the opposition to recall the president, in a motion to be formally proposed by the main opposition Kuomintang party in parliament on Friday.
Analysts say the big question now is whether the prosecutors' conclusions last Friday will cause some DPP lawmakers to lose faith in their leader and vote in favour of the recall motion. The decision suggests there is now no chance of the motion being passed and triggering a national referendum on the issue, the BBC's Caroline Gluck in Taipei says.
A handful of reformist lawmakers have already said they want Mr Chen to leave office. Although the opposition parties have a small majority in parliament, they needed at least 14 ruling party members to back the motion in order for it to succeed.
But analysts still predict that, in the end, the DPP will continue its support for the president. The last two attempts, in June and October, failed as all Mr Chen's DPP colleagues stood by him.
"A-bian will ride it through one more time," predicted the Taiwanese newspaper United Daily News, refering to Mr Chen by his nickname. President Chen appears to have weathered the storm for the time being but the scandal has seriously damaged his image and that of his party, which was founded on the principles of clean government and an end to corruption, our correspondent says.