The nation's two most senior leaders yesterday continued their war of words about the direction of cross-strait policy as President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) criticized his vice president, Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), for being emotional and lacking an understanding about the government's efforts.
"It's not good to get mad after just reading the newspapers and without fully understanding the situation," Chen said as he received leaders of medium-sized enterprises at the Presidential Office.
Chen's remarks were obviously aimed at Lu, who said on Tuesday that when she had criticized the Economic Development Advisory Conference for proposing modification of the government's "no haste, be patient" policy, she was only commenting on news reports about the conference and on reports that China intended to force Taiwan to accept unification through its economic engagement.
It was the second time that Chen had reacted strongly to Lu during the past two days and it was also taken as a sign that Chen fully supports the conference's efforts to create a consensus that will help the cabinet to make policy.
On Monday, Lu had severely attacked the conference, most of whose members advocate the immediate lifting of the ban on direct-trade links between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, calling on the group and the president to "consult their consciences."
During yesterday's reception, Chen told his guests that replacement of the "no haste be patient" policy with one of "proactive openness and effective management" is one recommendation the conference is expected to make.
Chen clearly voiced his support for the conference, saying it represented a valuable opportunity to gather representatives from all political parties and the public to discuss many important issues about the country's future.
"It was a really difficult task to invite all parties to sit down for negotiations," Chen said, "and now [what the conference has achieved] amounts to nothing more than a good beginning." Chen stressed that the conference is continuing and its final resolutions are yet to be made.
"The crucial factor is whether we have confidence," Chen said, "and only those people who have no confidence [in competing with China] will be afraid."
Chen stressed that, though the government's trade policy with China has to be changed, the principle of "Taiwan first" and national security remain government priorities.
"If we are afraid the bird will fly away if we relax our grip and worry that it may die if we keep it in our hands, then we won't be able to initiate any reforms," Chen said in Taiwanese.
He then complained that certain people had made mistakes and lost their tempers without understanding the true situation.
Aides to the president yesterday further explained why Chen was seeking directly to rebut Lu's criticisms, stressing that the president is worried that Lu may end up destroying the hard-won achievements of the conference.
"President Chen decided to react to the vice president's remarks quickly " the aide said, "because the conference is the only opportunity to create a consensus of all the different parties since the country's political chaos began almost a year ago."
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