President's fireside chats kick up lawmaker's protest

The nation's airwaves yesterday resounded to the sounds of a political dispute over President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) weekly fireside chat-style television show when a KMT legislator accused the president of using government funds to promote himself. A DPP legislator later responded that the charge was "ridiculous."

Shortly after the spat, Chen emphasized at a reception for outstanding handicapped people that his show has nothing to do with politics, saying, "As the leader of this country, I feel I have the responsibility to share with the public voices and stories from different levels of this society."

He said that he just wants to promote a positive attitude and offer encouragement with his three to five minute weekly talk.

The program, A-bian Portrait, has been attacked by opposition parties, including the PFP and KMT since it was introduced on Feb. 15, saying that Chen is campaigning for himself by taking advantage of the government's resources.

The show is funded by the Presidential Office.

KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday told reporters that her party has decided to legalize her draft proposal to the Broadcasting and Television Law (廣電法), which states that candidates for elections are banned from attending any performances of "government-funded advertisements," to prohibit further broadcasting of the talks.

"The program might have nothing to do with politics, but it shows President Chen attempting to move the public's attention away from his failures in governing this country," Hung said.

"He might not be a candidate right now, but he will definitely be a candidate for the presidential election, which means that the talks should be prohibited from being aired," she said.

Hung added that Chen was not the appropriate person to seek to "encourage" society. "There are numerous psychological or religious experts who would be more appropriate than Chen."

Hung's proposal is awaiting the Legislative Yuan's review, having passed its first reading last December.

DPP legislative whip Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) retorted that Hung's argument was "ridiculous," that the election was still a year away and that Chen is not even a candidate yet.

"Does their argument mean that President Chen should not talk or hold any press conferences in the year that remains before the election?" Chen asked.

He said that issues related to elections are regulated by the Elec-tion and Recall Law (選舉罷免法), and that he didn't see what bearing the KMT's draft proposal had on the president's show.

He explained that the talk is pre-recorded by the Presidential Office and released to the news organizations every Saturday. The news organizations are at liberty to decide whether to broadcast the tape or not.

The show, President Chen's idea, was inspired by former US president Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside Chats.

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