Examination Yuan chief to take over AEAR's reins

President of the Examination Yuan Hsu Shui-teh (許水德), whose term is scheduled to end on Sept. 1, will fill the vacant position of head of the Association of East Asian Relations (AEAR, 亞東關係協會) in Taipei after he gives up his current post to Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), sources revealed yesterday.

"President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) plans to invite Hsu to serve as his senior advisor and will make him the chairman of the AEAR to take advantage of his expertise and past experiences in handling Taiwan-Japan affairs," government sources said.

The association acts as a private-sector channel through which to facilitate non-official ties between Taiwan and Japan. It has been without a leader since its former head, Chuang Ming-yao (莊銘耀), passed away on Jan. 6.

Hsu, who was born in 1931, served as Taiwan's representative to Japan between 1991 and 1993 under the former KMT administration and he was then assigned by former president and KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to be the KMT's secretary-general from 1993 to 1996.

"Hsu was the only one in the party who could communicate with former KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in fluent Japanese," a government source said, "and Lee's endorsement of Hsu is an important reason why President Chen would like to entrust Hsu with an important position."

In a recently published book that traces his political career, Hsu said he is proud of what he had achieved during the past six years he served as the Examination Yuan's president.

"The acts and proposals passed during my term are much more than other heads of the Examination Yuan had ever managed," Hsu said in the book.

Hsu has been described as someone who is gentle and obedient to his superiors and who never complained about his job -- personality traits which made him former president Lee's choice for filling many important positions, such as mayor of Taipei City from 1985 to 1988, Minister of the Interior from 1988 to 1991 and secretary-general of the KMT from 1993 to 1996.

"I was transferred to lower-level positions three times in a row, but I didn't grumble and I only thought about the country's interests," Hsu said in the book.

As for his new job, Hsu didn't make any comment but only said that he will be glad to serve the government to the best of his abilities.

"Though the transfer of political power occurred more than two years ago, many politicians still seem unable to adapt to it," Hsu said.

"Maybe the reason is that it -- as a common practice in a democratic country -- just came too soon to be accepted."