Ma Ying-jeou, chairman of one of the main opposition parties Nationalist Party

The meeting between Nationalist Party Chairman Ma Ying-jeou and his counterpart at the People First Party, James Soong, follows opposition calls for a merger after mixed fortunes at Dec. 3 municipal elections Ethe former captured 14 of the 23 mayoral and county executives, the PFP only one.

Soong, a former Nationalist Party secretary general, defied the party and ran in the 2000 presidential election against its official candidate, Lien Chan. They lost the race to Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party, ending the Nationalists' five decades in power.

Soong then formed his own small opposition party, the PFP. The two main opposition parties both support eventual unification with China and often join forces in the legislature against Chen's independence-leaning DPP.

The PFP currently has 31 seats in the 225-seat Parliament, and the Nationalists 82 seats.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 17, 2005
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