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Chen reveals his vision for a new Executive Yuan

Chen's outline: * A large-scale merger of departments that have overlapping functions * Setting up a limited number of independent supervisory and control commissions as well as politically oriented special commissions * Cutting the number of Cabinet ministries and councils by at least one-third * Fundamentally changing the Executive Yuan's structure by opening several major policy planning units and legislating a new law governing the role, duty and functions of political appointees Source: TT

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday pledged to complete government restructuring over the next three years in order to cut expenditure and upgrade overall national competitiveness.

Chen made the vow in a speech delivered at the opening of a workshop for senior government officials and severely reproached "some administrative officials who spoil the mutual trust [within the government]." He said they should be punished, and he strongly criticized those officials who he said were not playing a "team game."

Chen said he had wanted to hold the workshop at the very beginning of his presidency, but "former premier Tang Fei (唐飛) did nothing about it." Chen said.

He said that some people were critical that he was behaving inappropriately by asking that his officials read his speeches.

"But am I really wrong? How much detailed attention does the broadcast and print media give to my speeches and my thinking? If the media is not interested, shouldn't the officials at least know them?" he asked.

Chin Hui-chu (秦慧珠), a People First Party lawmaker had complained that officials are now "made to recite Chen's speeches and write study reports on them." She said the government wanted every participant in this workshop to study a compilation of Chen's speeches and remarks and to hand in a "study report" by June 26.

Lee Jo-i (李若一), deputy director of the Central Personnel Administration said on Friday that it would be strange if officials weren't clear about what their leader thought.

Chen said at the opening of the workshop yesterday that it was important for officials to keep studying.

Chen said that he studied how to run for the presidency after he lost the election for the Taipei City mayoralty at the end of 1998. Now, he said, he is still studying how to be a president.

"Since I had to study hard to be a president, shouldn't the officials need to study?" Chen asked. "It is not only students who need to study these days. Everybody has to study or they will fall behind."

Government spokesman Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平) said the president hadn't meant to blame any particular official, but had wanted to show that everyone can speak frankly and honestly.

Chen admitted that he knew that the people did not have much confidence in his government and that Taiwan's economy was now suffering from a "developing syndrome."

"It is our priority to build up a new political and economic order for Taiwan," he said.

Outlining five goals for government rejuvenation, Chen said the government must slim down, reorganize, upgrade its ability to solve problems and wipe out official corruption, as well as forge partnerships and alliances between central and local government agencies.

For the moment, he said, the Executive Yuan should give top priority to its own organizational restructuring, by a process of consolidating ministries and departments, implementing new control structures, and overhauling policy-planning procedure.
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