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Lawrence  Chung

Outgoing Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian  came under fire yesterday from a group of young  members of the Democratic Progressive Party, who held him responsible for  its downfall.
Mr Chen 'must take the biggest share of the responsibility', said Tuan Yi-kang,  a former DPP  legislator.
The party was drubbed in legislative elections in January and the recent presidential poll.
The former head of the disbanded New Tide faction, a major  DPP clique,  said that when the DPP was the ruling party,  its  leaders failed to make the Taiwan-centric concept an important national goal; instead, they turned it into a political tool in the struggle for power.
Mr Tuan said  the move had backfired,  as was evident by the DPP's losses.  The party suffered its worst election defeat in the January 12 elections, winning just 27  of the 113  legislative seats, compared with the  Kuomintang's absolute control with 81  seats.
In the March 22 presidential poll,  DPP candidate Frank Hsieh Chang-ting  lost to Ma Ying-jeou  by more than 2 million votes, allowing the KMT to return to power after losing  to Mr Chen in 2000 and 2004.
Speaking at a news conference  attended by a group of younger  DPP members, including former legislator Hsiao Bi-khim,  Mr Tuan said that  as Mr Chen was in power for eight years, he was  responsible for the collective degeneration of the DPP.
He said it was not a witch-hunt  against any individuals, but he and other younger DPP members thought there was a dire need for the party to review itself to pave the way for a  comeback. He said the party must restore its clean image, work hard and adhere to its Taiwan-centric road to win back public trust.
Meanwhile, the DPP decided to invite party members and members of various social sectors to take part in three rallies for self-reflection and soul-searching. DPP Secretary- General Lee Ying-yuan  said conclusions reached at the three conferences, to be held in northern, central and southern Taiwan, would be sent to party authorities for adoption.



Chen to blame for DPP downfall, say young members of the party