Chen vows to stay on, finish his work

Presidential Secretary-General Chen Tan Sun said that all of the 11 national affairs advisers invited to a lunch at the Taipei Guest House hosted by President Chen unanimously agreed that the president doesn’t have to resign.

President Chen himself vowed to implement the pledges he made during the 2004 presidential campaign.

The advisers, active advocates for Taiwan independence, encouraged President Chen to continue pushing for a change in the nation’s official title and drafting a new Constitution to honor his commitment. Secretary-General Chen said that President Chen suggested that the advisers provide their proposals to relevant government agencies for reference.

The advisers expressed their understanding about the difficulties faced by the nation. But they still hoped that President Chen would try his best for fulfill his commitment to at least leave his mark in the history book, according to the president’s chief of staff.

He said the advisers are well versed in all fields and President Chen felt that he now understands more about the people’s expectations from him. The president thanked the advisers for giving him confidence and encouragement.

The national affairs advisers attending the lunch included Lee Hung-hsi, President Chen’s law professor; Taiwan Independence Federation Chairman Huang Chao-tang; Presbyterian Church minister Kao Chun-ming; Taiwan Straits Foundation Chairman Chang Chun-hsiung (a former premier); former Vice Premier Wu Rong-i; and former Senior Presidential Adviser Wu Feng-pei.

Other participants included former National Security Council Secretary-General Kang Ning-hsiang; New Age Culture and Education Foundation Chairman Chen Lung-chih; DPP Arbitrary Committee Chairman Chen Chi-sheng; Taipei University law professor Chen Chih-yang; and lawyer Hung Kuei-chan.

Secretary-General Chen also said that President Chen would like to listen to opinions from all sides.

But he said the president currently has no plans to meet with pro-DPP academic and civic group leaders who urged that the president resign in the wake of a series of scandals involving his close aides and family members, as well as his tactic of pitting people from different communities against each other.

When asked by reporters, Cho Jung-tai, deputy Presidential secretary-general of the Presidential Office, said that all participants at the lunch meeting expressed the unanimous view that President Chen is the chief of state elected by the people and he is obliged to serve out his term so that he would not betray the mandate of the people.

Concerning the escalating calls for Chen’s voluntary resignation, Cho said that the president was suggested to seize the event as an opportunity to start fresh to safeguard the “indigenous regime,” strengthen unity within the DPP, brush up the DPP’s tarnished image, and step up caring for the underprivileged in order to win back the people’s trust.

It was also a consensus for all at the meeting that Taiwan society should apply the same standard criteria to all political figures on the island, Cho added.

Analysts said the gathering is first of a series of maneuvers aimed at defusing the mounting pressure on President Chen, who is faced with the severest challenge in his political career.

Chen has come under pressure to voluntarily step aide, especially the dissension from people who helped send him to the Presidential Office but are now disillusioned by his performance, said the analysts.

After consolidating support from the pro-independence leaders, President Chen will seek unwavering support from DPP leaders and lawmakers so as to counter the pressure from the public.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email