(This is an English translation of the transcript from President Tsai’s speech on April 9th)
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I have a long due speech-delivery on the topic of DPP primary election.
The point is not who wins the DPP presidential primary election, but is how to win the 2020 presidential election.
Our eventual goal is to solve the problem during the primary election in order to keep the unity of DPP and fight for the winning of the 2020 Presidential election.
What we need right now is the all-in effort on willpower and the total involvement of DPP, but not the issues between Ex-Premier Lai and me. The current matter does not just affect DPP, but also the Nation’s political situation because of what we are the current administration of Taiwan. I am the current President; the primary election result will not just have an impact on all public servants will also have a significant impact on the military’s take on. We need to be calm and serious when dealing with what we are facing right now at this point.
Anyone who has ever been involved in DPP primary election knows about the consequences. The problem is really not between the candidates, all candidates can hold civil campaigns towards each other, but the problem is how the general supporter will become divided throughout the process.
If we keep focusing on the DPP in-party primary election and thus forgetting the 2020 Presidential election is our eventual goal, my stand is on the unity of the whole party for a victorious election. We have seen much precedence on how destructive primary election could be along the process.
Therefore, in the meeting yesterday, I told the 5 members of the committee, the question we should be asking ourselves is: with the current situation, shall we be cooperative or shall one resign oneself from the primary election.
If being cooperative is our final choice, we shall demonstrate an all-in effort to achieve cooperation; if we believe being cooperative promises the most outcomes from the primary election, we shall intergrade everyone in DPP so that we can be on the same direction.
I can be in cooperation with everyone. In the past, Premier Su and I were the competitors for DPP primary election, but now I am the President and he is the Primary, and we are working side by side for the Nation’s most interests. Ex-Premier Lai’s term as a Premier was also during my administration and was the one who held the position for the longest time.
I always believe that only when DPP is united together, we are able to achieve higher expects, as well as put in the reality of our responsibility for all Taiwanese.
With the current situation, I would like to specify some matters according to the roles that DPP central decision-making mechanism play.
Leading the unity of DPP in order to win the election is the most important thing, the mechanism’s primary concern should not be just holding elections or being judges between candidates, it should make decisions according to how to win the Presidential election; it has to stand on the highest point of the political function in terms of leading the current administration in achieving National security and development.
With flexibility and possibility in mind, the mechanism should be a problem-solving institute for combing solutions from all expect. I hope DPP can maximize the space and flexibility so that all solutions can be discussed, and consensus can be met for unity.
On the other hand, we are now in the process of negotiation, and the 5 members committee play key influencers and are leaders in DPP with meaningful indications. They are especially important in the consensual decision-making process. With the long relations they have with both Ex-Premier Lai and me, I am very confident with their abilities on in-party negotiation to solve the current issues we are facing.
DPP has to be confident for the past three years of at the central government administration. How we face this current issue will be the examination on what we have achieved as the central government for the past three years of the administration.
