Chen urges ‘indigenous dog spirit’

Like in previous years, President Chen released his Lunar New Year congratulatory message on TV and his personal Web site when most people on the island took part in “Weilu” or “surrounding oven” on the New Year’s Eve — the most important family reunion dinner.

Chen used a film showing him playing with an indigenous black dog named “Yunggoh” (Brave Brother), pure-bred and raised on the island.

He urged people on the island to learn from the dog to promote the “indigenous Taiwan spirit of bravery, loyalty, and vitality” as shown by the dog, man’s best friend.

In order to report this news, thousands of people working in Taiwan’s media organizations were forced to work late every year and sacrifice their rare chance to have a reunion dinner with family in order to wait for the presidential press release.

Most journalists said it would be better for the national leader and his aides to be more considerate to release the 1.5-minute film earlier, since the taped message had been finished long time ago (at least in Chen’s own Web site), so that more people can have the same opportunity as enjoyed by Chen himself to have a New Year’s Eve dinner with people close to them.

Journalists and others at media organizations normally have few chances to get together with family over the dinner table due to abnormal working schedules.

Sources said that Chen’s aides will study ways to reduce the inconveniences caused for other people next year. The last thing Chen wants to do is to strip others of the rare privilege while he himself enjoys his the reunion dinner, the aides said.

Rather than holding people from their reunion dinner with family, Premier Su Tseng-chang used a song as the ring tone for his phones. Callers will share the spirit of “Charg~e! Charg~e! Charg~e!” — the slogan he used to spur Cabinet ministers to take more active actions to serve the people.

Su stressed that the people are always “his masters,” whatever positions he holds. During his inspection tour of New Year transportation and public security, he also promised to put the people’s interests first.

With sound advance preparation, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, who is concurrently chairman of the opposition Kuomintang, sent his greetings to the people via his personal Web site without having to withhold people from the family reunion dinner.

Starting out before dawn, Ma kept a busy schedule to visit street sweepers, police, and other people tied up with public service work.

Ma gave out red envelopes — containing NT$200 cash in each envelope — to around 2,000 people for their sacrifice to other people in the capital city.

Sticking to tradition, Ma enjoyed the reunion dinner with his mother and other members of his family in the company of a stray dog he found several years ago.

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