Cablegate: "Taiwan Daily" Commentary Gently Criticizes

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000445

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/RSP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - ROBERT
PALLADINO
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO TW
SUBJECT: "TAIWAN DAILY" COMMENTARY GENTLY CRITICIZES
PRESIDENT CHEN SHUI-BIAN'S LEADERSHIP STYLE

Summary: The pro-independence Chinese-language "Taiwan
Daily" Tuesday carried a commentary by Dr. Chen Po-
chih, chairman of the Taiwan Think Tank, in which he
suggested how "a president for all people" should act.
Note that President Chen Shui-bian announced in the
wake of last December's legislative elections, in which
the ruling DPP failed to win a majority of the seats,
that he would resign from the chairmanship of the DPP
and be "a president for all people." Chen Po-chih's
article offers gentle criticism of President Chen's
leadership style. A summary of the article follows.

"The President for All People [Should] Lead All People
to Establish Consensus"

Taiwan Think Tank Chairman Chen Po-chih wrote in the
pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" (02/01):

President Chen Shui-bian announced last December that
he wants to be "a president for all people," and in
that same vein he resigned from the chairmanship of the
DPP after the Pan-Green alliance failed to win a
majority of the seats in the Legislative Yuan. In
principle, a president who is elected the leader of a
state is naturally a president for all people. He acts
on behalf of the country and should serve the interests
of all its people. Since President Chen has placed an
emphasis on being a president for all people, he should
adopt some more specialized approaches in order to
fulfill his goal.

The first possible approach for President Chen to take,
according to Dr. Chen Po-chih, is that "He should no
longer get involved in any campaign-related affairs and
should not support any particular political party or
candidates." In the meantime, however, President Chen
must not entirely neglect the policies of his own
party, which were proposed during his presidential
campaign. "A president for all people should not give
up his party's policies or advocacy [positions] and
simply act as an independent," Dr. Chen writes.

The second possible approach for "a president of all
people" to take, Dr. Chen suggests, is to manage the
differences between the Executive Yuan and the
Legislative Yuan in an impartial manner. According to
Taiwan's constitution, the president appoints the
premier, and the appointee is obliged to carry out the
policies that the president proposes. If the
Legislative Yuan does not completely agree with the
policies suggested by the Executive Yuan, it is
constitutionally acceptable for the president to
facilitate negotiations between the two to work out a
consensus. "If the president can adopt an unprejudiced
and neutral position when coordinating the differences
[between the Executive and Legislative Yuans] and does
not insist on taking the stand of his own political
party with regard to those policies, he can also be
called as a president for all people."

According to Dr. Chen Po-chih, "For Taiwan's current
stage, a more valuable option for a president ... is to
work on a higher level with a broader vision by
contemplating the interests of all his people, guiding
his people to work out a long-term development
direction for the country, and strengthening the
consensuses of all the people." To do this and thereby
adjust any relevant short-term goals and policies is
what a state leader not under re-election pressure can
and must do. In accomplishing this goal, the president
would not only be "a president for all people" but
would leave behind a good reputation in history, Dr.
Chen writes.

For Taiwan, economic, financial, and public security
issues are relatively short-term issues that can be
dealt with by professionals. But for the long-term,
issues such as bureaucratic restructuring, educational
and judicial reform, and improvements regarding cross-
Strait relations require the impartial leadership of a
president who can set up multi-party committees to plan
and resolve them.

"A state leader is obliged to contemplate strategies to
address these long-term problems, to mobilize more
people to work on [achieving the country's] objectives,
and to guide public opinion to form a greater consensus
in the society," Chen writes. "A president who can
advance a country's long-term development by working
out a direction and strategy that all political parties
will follow, he can be labeled a successful president
for all people."

PAAL

© Scoop Media