Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) called on ruling and opposition leaders yesterday to have "blue ocean" coffee and hammer out a resolution to solve what she called one of the nation's gravest crises in 30 years.
"Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and I invite the leaders of the four branches of government and five political parties to sit down with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and myself to have a cup of `blue ocean' coffee," she said.
Lu said the idea was supported by both Chen and Wang.
The "blue ocean strategy" is the subject of a book written by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, who argue that cutthroat competition results in nothing but a bloody, red ocean of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool.
They advocate the idea of "winning by not competing," or achieving lasting success not by battling competitors, but by creating "blue oceans" -- untapped sectors ripe for growth.
For the benefit of the country and its people, Lu said the ruling and opposition parties are duty bound to formulate a "blue ocean" strategy because the nation cannot afford cutthroat competition or bloodshed.
The Presidential Office later confirmed that invitations had been sent to leaders of all political parties for "coffee time" at the Taipei Guest House on Thursday, starting at 2:30pm.
Lu said that the nation is facing its fourth crisis since severed diplomatic ties with the US in 1978. She referred to the breaking of ties with the US as the first crisis and the Kaohsiung Incident in 1979 as the second.
The incident was when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration broke up an anti-government parade in Kaohsiung organized by Formosa magazine -- of which Lu was vice president -- to commemorate International Human Rights Day. The parade turned into a riot, and many opposition movement supporters were arrested, including Lu.
The third crisis, Lu said, was the "seven-day soft coup" which took place on March 20, 2004, after the presidential election.
The current crisis is the result of chronic political confrontation in the legislature and a recent string of scandals implicating Chen's close aides and in-laws, which Lu said have seriously damaged the nation's image and foreign investment.
She said that the government was facing three challenges, the first of which is whether it can manage to be free from corruption.
The second challenge was whether the judicial system can maintain fairness and independence in the investigation of the recent wave of scandals.
The third challenge was whether the nascent democratic system can be upheld.
While Lu admitted the Democratic Progressive Party should bear most of the responsibility, the opposition parties should also be held accountable.
"It is not the time to `drop stones on a person who has fallen into a well' nor to reap political gains," she said. "We are all in the same boat."
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