Premier-designate exchanges ideas with Koo and Lee

Premier-designate Yu Shyi-kun yesterday visited Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫), Taiwan's top negotiator with China, and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to exchange opinions regarding cross-strait relations and economic issues.

Following the meeting, Koo, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, told the media that the atmosphere has changed for the better since Thursday, when Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen (錢其琛) made an apparently friendly statement toward Taiwan.

Koo said that he was not sure whether Qian's statement contained goodwill toward Taiwan, but said China has some understanding of Taiwan's mainstream public opinion and the political and economic situation.

"Thus, it is necessary for China to make some degree of adjustment," he said.

Koo added that with a new Cabinet, the two sides could think anew about how to improve cross-strait relations.

Yu told the media he had asked for Koo's advice on how to "pursue economic prosperity" and promote exchanges between Taiwan and Japan.

"We are relying on Koo's experience to facilitate exchanges between Taiwan and Japan," Yu said.

Yu said that Koo had previously successfully invited senior Japanese politicians to Taiwan, boosting relations between the two countries.

During Yu's meeting with Lee yesterday morning, the former president expressed high expectations for the newly formed Cabinet and advised Yu to put economic issues at the top of his administrative agenda, new Cabinet spokesperson Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) said.

Lee also told the incoming premier that with Taiwan's accession to the WTO, the country should seize the chance to develop economic and trade relations with other countries.

"Lee considers the most important task for the Cabinet to be resurrecting the economy. With sufficient capital in the private sector and a healthy stock market when investor confidence improves, the economy should rebound quickly," Chuang told the media after the meeting.

Yu also visited Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) yesterday evening.

The purpose of the visit, according to Yu, was to ask Lee to continue in his capacity as a technology consultant to the Executive Yuan.

The two also exchanged opinions regarding policy on education and technology. Yu said after the meeting that both of them agreed that the most important policy is to focus on research and creativity.