President-elect Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) publicly apologized yesterday over the confusion involved in the formation of the new Cabinet, after recent media reports pointed to the existence of running conflicts and controversy among the members of his National Policy Advisory Comm-ittee.
Many reports have referred to the disbandment of the National Policy Advisory Committee on Thursday as abrupt, with some suggesting that it was the result of the committee's disagreements over specific Cabinet choices.
It was also reported that some committee members themselves attempted to make Cabinet recommendations.
The president-elect dismissed those reports yesterday as being "complete nonsense," however, claiming they were painted so colorfully that they "looked real." But he said the reporting was unfair to advisory committee members, and that he felt obligated to speak "the truth" to clear their names.
Just days ahead of the presidential election, Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) and 15 other senior national figures -- including both business and academic leaders -- accepted an invitation by Chen to form an advisory committee should Chen win.
Their agreement to join the committee if Chen should win the election, according to political analysts, provided Chen with a strong boost of support in the final days of the campaign.
Since March 18, the committee has played an important role in planning the line-up and direction of the new government. The selection of Tang Fei (
"It is for the causes of justice and public interest that these people stood up for me during the campaign. But they never meant to interfere in planning the formation of the new government," Chen said.
Chen said the committee had a clear mandate -- to advise the new president on future policy directions. "The advisors knew where they stood and that they wouldn't take part in putting forward names for the Cabinet. They showed great respect for the constitutional powers of the new president and premier," Chen said.
The president-elect also apologized for having caused confusion over the Cabinet appointments. To Tang, with whom Chen was reportedly at odds in determining some of the appointments, Chen also offered an apology.
"Not everyone has the opportunity to take part in the process. Some got the wrong message, and others just guessed. Even I have been amazed at some of the reported names," Chen said.
"I know such reports are not only bad for the named parties, but bad for myself and Tang. But it is impossible for me to deny or clarify every one of them," Chen said. "For the confusion this has caused, I apologize to all of you."
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