Chen says management key to good government

Speaking at a forum which focused on expectations for the new government yesterday, President-elect Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said his administration would take action to reform the government and military, but stressed caution in handling cross-strait relations.

In an opening speech at a two-day forum held by National Taiwan University (NTU), Chen emphasized that the incorporation of business management strategies is essential to the success of a series of reforms he has pledged to bring about.

He pointed to poor management in the army as the biggest threat to Taiwan's national security. "Even though we can afford to buy the best weapons, it is useless if those using the weapons are poorly-trained," Chen said.

To lead the country forward, Chen said Taiwan had to show resolve in snuffing out deep-rooted systematic problems in the government and do it in a creative and efficient way. "As fast as a speeding rocket, I'll cut off the burdens of the past piece by piece and lead the new government upwards," he said.

While displaying boldness and forcefulness in domestic reform, Chen maintained a prudent approach to cross-strait issues.

"Cross-strait relations is an issue of such sensibility and importance that my inauguration speech has been pushed into the international spotlight. As a graduate of NTU, I'm confident that I won't let you down," Chen said.

"But, this is an issue that hasn't been resolved for 55 years. President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) also failed to solve it during his 12-year tenure. It would be too high an expectation to believe that this old problem can be immediately solved by my inauguration speech."

Since Chen was elected in March, China has placed increasing pressure on the president-elect to identify with and openly assert the "one China" principle -- that the PRC is the only legitimate Chinese government and that Taiwan is part of China.

Realizing that his inauguration speech will draw a great deal of attention from China and the international community, Chen has repeated on several occasions that it is unrealistic for the public to expect that dramatic changes in cross-strait relations will come about as a result of his speech.

Chen remains strongly backed by public opinion in Taiwan. A survey released yesterday showed that nearly 40 percent of approximately 1,000 respondents felt that Chen should not mention the "one China" principle in his inauguration speech while about 30 percent of respondents felt that he should.