Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen has declined President Ma Ying-jeou’s invitation to go to the Presidential Office to discuss constitutional reform.
The president’s invitation came on Sunday, one day after Tsai called for the nation’s political parties to come together with civic groups to participate in a National Affairs Conference on the issue. It would be the first opposition-proposed conference of its kind.
Later on Sunday, Tsai declined the president’s invitation for talks, saying it was "pointless" for the two to discuss the issue. She instead welcomed the president to attend the conference, which she said would be “a process participated in by everyone in the country.” Tsai said that there was no need to hold talks with the president at this point.
The topic of constitutional reform has been in the news following a proposal by New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu to hold a public referendum on the topic. Chu made the suggestion last week when announcing his bid to run for chairman of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT). Chu suggested putting the referendum on the ballot in the 2016 presidential elections.
President Ma resigned as KMT chairman following the party’s defeat in the nationwide local elections on Nov. 29. Chu is seen as a likely successor.