For example, when the reporters asked me if I had been threatened with guns [concerning the Jin-Wen case,] I shook my head. But the next day, the media said I had admitted tacitly that that was the case.
There is a well-known study in socio-psychology which shows that a piece of information can be completely twisted when it is transmitted too many times. It is a fact.
Lately, I have learned the art of consideration before making comments. It is contradictory to my personality, though.
TT: During the small-scale reshuffle in the Cabinet in March, there were rumors that you would be replaced because of allegations that yourself and the ruling party don't see eye-to-eye ideologically and because of your reported closeness to opposition parties. Although you retained your position, how did you feel back then?
Tzeng: I didn't really care. Yet I didn't believe they thought they were doing the right thing back then.
I am not especially close to opposition parties. A partisan following is not important to me. I don't belong to any party, and I do not need any partisan recognition. I just want to devote myself to education. Taiwan is too small for us to spend time and energy on internal struggles.
They categorize me as being pro-unification, but the charge is ungrounded. I am a genuine Taiwanese, and speak perfect Taiwanese.
My name was on the black list for 20 years until 1989, and I was hassled at customs every time I returned to Taiwan. It is ridiculous when people label me as a unificationist.
TT: Do you feel downhearted at being a loner in the Cabinet?
Tzeng: Yes. A prime source of my frustration is that the administration doesn't consider me to be part of the team. They don't regard me as their com-rade. They accuse me of not knowing them, or of failing to execute their policies. I feel very distressed.
When I read the white paper on educational policies mapped out by the government, I think the visions we have sketched are identical.
And I am striving to implement these initiatives. I think it is because they don't appreciate what I am doing. They only assess my work from a partial perspective, and do not get an overview of my plans.
Sometimes I feel lonely because of a lack of support [from the government].
But it also makes me think that it is worth the fight when I know I have a supportive team that understands and appreciates my efforts.
I don't care about the criticism; all I care about is the result. If I think I can do it, I'll go for it. If they don't let me attempt to achieve my goals, I'll regret that, but they will also.
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