Vincent Siew, one of few the good guys in Taiwanese politics, has resigned his post as a vice-chairman of the KMT. Although it is not unexpected (he has taken a lower and lower profile in the last year or so, and threatened or tried to resign before), the timing is interesting. Resigning with immediate effect is a sign that he wants to avoid getting involved in the impending battle between Ma & Wang for control of the KMT.

Siew’s main claim to fame is as the premier of Taiwan from 1997 to 2000 – when he ran (unsucessfully) for Vice President with Lien Chan. His promotion to premier by (then President) Lee Deng Hui was one of the reasons that James Soong split from the KMT to form the PFP.
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Yesterday, the president met with James Soong, the head of the People First Party – and released a 10-point agreement document.

I can’t think of a more unlikely partnership than between Chen Shui-bian and James Soong. Back in March last year, it was generally thought that the PFP were the main people behind all the demonstrations protesting the presidential election; you’d have thought all the ranting by Soong about being robbed and ‘storming the presidential palace’ would have bought him an enemy for life in Chen (not to mention Soong’s previous history as head of the GIO).

However, once the DPP failed to get a majority in the legislature last December (with or without the help of the TSU), it became clear that Chen’s options were:

• Spend the next 4 years in the same impasse as the previous 4 years – where the legislature blocks almost everything the president sends them.
• Cut a deal.

Party loyalty is strong in Taiwan, so the chances of getting a few disgruntled KMT legislators to jump ship were pretty minimal (although, who knows what might happen if the KMT leadership battle turns ugly?), which leaves the PFP as the only option. There had been rumours and plans for this meeting for a while – but most people were pretty sceptical that anything would come of it; from that perspective, the outcome today is a success.
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