A key member of the working committee to draft the inaugural address denied reports circulating yesterday which claimed President-elect Chen Shui-bian's (
"President Chen, myself and all our close advisers have never discussed this term," said Vice Chairman-designate of the National Security Council and close aide to Chen, Chiu I-jen (
Yesterday's China Times Express, quoting sources in a front page story that lacked a byline, said that Chen would put forward a "one country, two governments" position during his inaugural speech.
A key writer of the new president's speech echoed Chiu's denial, noting that the major goal of the address is to encourage the people of Taiwan to work together with the new government and create a new future for themselves.
"Domestic issues will be the most important element of the speech," said Antonio Chiang (
Sources also revealed that the incoming chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council Tsai Ying-wen (蔡英文) has said that Chen would not mention "fixed and defined phrases" in his speech, including "one China with individual interpretations" (一個中國,各自表述), "the split German model" (兩德模式), nor "a separated China, ruled by two governments" (分治的中國).
Chiang, authorized by Chen to coordinate a task force for writing the inauguration speech, formally began his work in early April.
The work incorporated the opinions of over 40 professors and drew inspiration from a wide range of famous historical speeches, Chiang said.
"Most of the members of the task force requested that Chen's speech not respond to the `one China' policy directly, as demanded by Beijing," Chiang said.
Other sources revealed that the current director of the American Institute in Taiwan visited Chen many times during the drafting process of the speech to share the opinions of the US government with the new president.
The draft of the speech was completed around May 14 and put into translation on May 16.
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