Taipei, June 5 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Tuesday that he hoped that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party would be the largest party in the legislature after the year-end elections so that he can work fully for the improvement of Taiwan's economy.
Chen made the remarks at a lunch he offered to DPP lawmakers after he returned home Tuesday morning from a 16-day diplomatic journey to Latin American countries.
Chen said during his Latin American tour that he will give top priority to addressing the country's economic problems after his return, since he had focused his efforts on national defense and relations with mainland China and other countries in the first year of his administration.
Chen's party accounts for just one-third of the 222 seats in the nation's legislature, and he has had a hard time working with the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan.
Although Chen had said that the local economic plight was partly caused by a global slump, he also said he and the whole Cabinet should take full responsibility to improve the country's economy.
At Tuesday's lunch, Chen congratulated Lin Feng-hsi, Chang Chuan-tien, and Tsai Huang-lang, the newly elected DPP caucus conveners in the legislature, and said he hoped all the lawmakers can be re-elected in the year-end legislative elections.
Commenting on his just-concluded Latin American diplomatic journey, Chen said the dignified treatment he received from the countries he visited is actually their affirmation to Taiwan's long-term democratic and economic development. He said he realized that maintaining continued economic prosperity in Taiwan is the best way to link friendship with diplomatic allies and to fight against Beijing's intimidation against the island.
Chen urged all the DPP legislators to work hard with him for the good of Taiwan's economy.