Chen vows to consult senior aides

In a bid to counter recent accusations that he only consults with a few "boy scouts" while making policy, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said that he has invited more senior DPP advisors to participate in his policymaking.

He also said that he would allow more government officials to join his team in order that a greater variety of opinions can be heard.

Chen yesterday received over 20 senior presidential advisors and national policy counselors, saying during a two-hour meeting with them that the government would depend on their wisdom in governing the country.

"The president has decided to expand his policymaking system and will therefore assign some roles to the senior presidential advisors and national policy counselors in the near future," said Huang Hua (黃華), one of the president's national policy counselors.

Opposition parties have repeatedly complained that Chen has only consulted with a few young aides since his inauguration on May 20, a complaint mentioned in the recently released book about former Premier Tang Fei (唐飛) written by Chou Yu-kou (周玉蔻).

"Many senior officials in the Presidential Office call those young aides `boy scouts' and they are really angry that the president is surrounded by them," Chou writes.

A close aide to the president has said that it is for that reason that Chen has decided to take advice from more senior advisors.

"Those senior advisors and consultants are worried about recent chaos and disputes between the government and opposition parties," said sources, "but they have firmly told the president that it is not necessary to promise to allow the KMT to organize the Cabinet."

The KMT has urged the president to implement the spirit of Taiwan's Constitution, saying the semi-presidential system means that the majority party in the Legislative Yuan should have the right to appoint the premier and organize the Cabinet.

They also stressed the importance of solving current economic problems, saying policies to control the financial system should be the first item on the agenda.

The president decided on Tuesday that he will expand his weekly policymaking meeting to include more heavyweights, announcing that there will be a nine-member negotiation and briefing meeting (九人協商會報) every Tuesday.

The nine include: Chen, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Secretary-General to the president Yu Shyi-kun, DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁), Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), and DPP legislative caucus leaders Perng Shao-chin (彭紹謹) and Hsu Tien-tsai (許添財).