Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) showed his resolve to spur the ministry on to greater efforts yesterday as he sacrificed his holidays to ensure the ministry's operations continue non-stop during the Lunar New Year holidays.
The personnel department of the ministry conducted a spot check yesterday to ensure related coordination between the ministry and Taiwan's embassies and overseas representative offices would run smoothly during the upcoming holiday.
Chien himself was even stationed in the ministry yesterday afternoon to inspect the results of the spot check, sources said.
"This made me feel as if I have returned to my days in the army during the two-year compulsory military service," said a foreign ministry official, who refused to be named, when commenting on the inspection.
Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Katharine Chang (張小月) said the selective inspection was meant to ensure the ministry's operations would continue non-stop even during the Lunar New Year celebrations.
"Despite the fact a majority of staffers at the ministry are off [during the holidays], the ministry's operations continue non-stop for 365 days a year," Chang said.
The ministry has set up a special task force to handle any unexpected emergencies during the holiday, sources said.
Chien's ambition to spur the ministry on to greater efforts after his inauguration was crystal clear as he vowed to reform the ministry's work by introducing what he termed as a set of scientific criteria to evaluate various agencies' performance.
Chien even called Chang at around 11pm on Friday to tell her to think about how to cope with upcoming tasks after the new year holidays, including the opening of a new session at the Legislative Yuan and the visit by US President George W. Bush to China.
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