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Military veterans rally to show
support for Ma
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporter
Retired generals and veterans
yesterday pledged support for President Ma Ying-jeou.
Photo: Taipei Times
Retired generals and veterans yesterday
pledged support for President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) at a large-scale campaign event
in Taipei and called for unity in the wake of rumors that People First Party (PFP)
Chairman James Soong (§º·¡·ì) could enter the presidential election.
The more than 600 veterans and retired generals in attendance were led by former
premier Hau Pei-tsun (°q¬f§ø) and former army commander-in-chief general Chen
Cheng-hsiang (³¯Âí´ð).
Voicing unwavering support for Ma and his running mate, Premier Wu Den-yih
(§d´°¸q), on behalf of veterans¡¦ groups, Hau praised Ma for his integrity and
competence, while also taking issue with Ma¡¦s lack of attention to veterans
issues.
¡§I am not fully satisfied with what President Ma has done over the past three
years ... I am not happy that he cut the year-end bonus given to retired
generals. However, these are small problems. Military veterans care about the
big issues and we will -support President Ma¡¦s re-election bid because he has
handled national issues well,¡¨ Hau said at the Armed Forces Officers¡¦ Club.
Chen criticized Soong¡¦s pledge to join the presidential race if he successfully
collects 1 million signatures in a petition, saying that pan-blue groups,
including many veterans who have been supportive of Soong and the PFP, would
only support the Ma-Wu ticket in January¡¦s presidential election.
¡§I believe Mr Soong will make the right decision for the sake of pan-blue unity.
He has been an ally of the pan-blue camp, and I hope he will continue to be a
good comrade and friend,¡¨ Chen said.
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (§d§B¶¯) echoed
Chen¡¦s comments yesterday at a separate setting. Describing Soon.g as an old
friend, Wu stressed the importance of unity in the pan-blue camp and urged the
PFP chairman to make the wise decision.
¡§I expect and believe that Mr Soong has enough wisdom and experience to make the
right call,¡¨ he said after voting in the KMT¡¦s Central Standing Committee
election yesterday.
Amid non-stop chanting of campaign slogans including ¡§Victory for Ma Ying-jeou¡¨
and patriotic songs, Ma shook hands with many of the veterans in attendance as
he walked into the packed room, and promised to step up efforts to combat
corruption.
¡§With your passion and support, I am confident that we will definitely win the
presidential election ... I promised to build a clean government and combat
corruption three years ago and the -government will continue its efforts in
those areas in the future,¡¨ he said.
PFP spokesman Wu Kun-yu (§d±X¥É) yesterday shrugged off veteran groups¡¦ pledges of
support for Ma, saying that Soong continued to enjoy considerable support from
military veterans.
¡§Support for Ma from some retired generals does not represent the intentions of
all former military personnel. The PFP respects the opinions of those veterans,
but they should also respect Mr Soong¡¦s right to run for the presidency,¡¨ he
said.
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