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Chen explains why he doesn't want adviser position

To set an example for retiring officials, the secretary general of the Presidential Office, Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟), yesterday said that he will not accept President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) invitation to serve as a senior adviser to the President after leaving his current post on Feb. 1.

"I once criticized the former KMT administration for using government resources like money and posts to reward its members who had to leave office," Chen told reporters yesterday, "and the DPP government should not make the same mistake."

Chen stressed that his character is to be straightforward and consistent and therefore it is unthinkable that he would violate his promise and his fundamental beliefs by accepting the president's good-will arrangement.

Responding to reporters' speculation that he was replaced because he had repeatedly made controversial or inappropriate remarks to the media, Chen said that to tell things as they are is an inherent part of his personality.

"I don't feel depressed by the arrangement," Chen said, "because I'm a member of the team, it's my duty to accept the arrangement from the team chief, President Chen, and do what it entails."

"I'm an honest man and I always speak truth and I will never change this in the future," he said, adding that he has to maintain this principle while serving as head of the Ketagalan Academy, a private institute to train officials for the ruling DPP that will be formally established after the Lunar New Year.

DPP heavyweights said that Chen Shih-meng's personality is quite different from that of a mature politician, who should not directly express his own opinions about particular people or events. In addition, they said his public statements reflected that he didn't think like a government official.

"Now, President Chen needs a right-hand man to coordinate all sectors of the government, the party and private institutions, and who can join the election campaign staff to help the president win the 2004 presidential elections," said a DPP central headquarters leader.

"Chen's personality may bring more trouble from opposition politicians than be of assistance in getting support from the public."

The controversial remarks made by the "outspoken" secretary general include ones such as: "the ROC flag does not equal the ROC;" "political factors would be taken into consideration and the case was strong for China Airlines to buy its planes from Boeing instead;" and "China and Taiwan are like twins, but the Beijing authority wants to turn them into conjoined twins."
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