Taiwan's Chen eyes power-sharing deal

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian has proposed to end political feuding in Taiwan by forming its first coalition government after legislative elections in December.

A gridlock between the opposition Nationalist Party and Chen's minority ruling party has stalled policy reforms and the economy since he assumed office last May.

In a speech marking his first anniversary in office Friday, Chen announced a power-sharing plan where no party is expected to emerge with a legislative majority.

"Regardless of the election results, we will form a coalition government and a majority alliance of lawmakers to restructure the legislature and stabilize politics," Chen said in a televised address.

"Only by stopping this internal war of attrition can we win the battle for economic development," Chen said.

Vague proposal

The Taiwanese leader did not provide details, such as how a coalition would work and who his political partners would be.

Many analysts doubt that Taiwan is ready for a coalition government because of sharp differences between the parties.

Chen's upset election victory last year unseated the Nationalist Party, which controlled the Taiwanese presidency for more than five decades.

But his Democratic Progressive Party had only a minority in the legislature. The Nationalist majority has tried to thwart Chen whenever possible.

Chen made matters worse late last year when his government canceled a partially built nuclear plant -- a pet project of the Nationalists.

Months of feuding helped shake confidence in the jittery stock market and the economy, which was already suffering from a global slowdown and sagging demand in the electronics industry.

Fed up with the political bickering, the public began to sour on both the president and the opposition, most polls have reported.

APEC hopes

Chen had also hoped to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shanghai in October.

He had offered to hold talks with Jiang on a range of issues including the lifting of a decades-old ban on direct trade and transport links.

But Chinese officials have rejected Chen's proposal to fly to Shanghai, even to attend the upcoming APEC summit.

The territory has been represented by a cabinet minister or business leader at past APEC summits.

Beijing has tried to isolate Chen diplomatically since he took office last May in the island's first democratic transfer of power because he has refused to kowtow to its cherished "one China" principle.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.