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President details party priorities

Salvaging Taiwan's economic reforms, preventing the come-back of "black gold" politics and retaining a vantage position in its competition with China are the three challenges facing the DPP administration in the run up to next year's presidential election, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday.

"Being a ruling party, of course the DPP cares about the 2004 presidential election," DPP deputy secretary-general Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said at a press conference following the party's grassroots civil representative conference, recounting Chen's statements made in his capacity as party chairman.

"However, since it is the ruling party, the DPP administration therefore focuses its priority on rising to these three challenges and does not preoccupy itself with next year's presidential election," Lee said.

Held at the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel in Taipei, the conference provided a forum for approximately 180 DPP civil representatives to meet with Chen.

Acknowledging that some members have been less than satisfied with the reforms sought by the DPP's administration in the past three years, Chen admitted that there are areas in which he felt the same way. He then asked party members to understand the challenges of pushing for reform.

Since taking office in 2000, the DPP administration has effectively rid itself of the "black gold" politics practiced by the old government as well as having probed into numerous cases of such practices, Chen said. He then called on everyone to treasure the values of democracy brought about by the transition of power four years ago.

At the conference, Chen stressed that China's "one China" principle is unacceptable to himself, the DPP and Taiwan's 23 million people, as such a principle is an attempt to transform Taiwan into another Hong Kong. Chen asked Taiwan's populace to use its advantages to the full to compete with China.

"All issues, including that of cross-strait direct transportation, should be carefully weighed with Taiwan's long-term interests in mind," said Chen.

Chen rebutted criticism fired by PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) concerning the Alishan tour staged by Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).

Chen and Lu led a group of media on a joint inspection tour of Alishan's resort areas on Friday, where just recently there was a major train crash.

Soong criticized President Chen, saying he should have stayed in Taipei and devoted his time to probing measures on how to safeguard Taiwan's interests in the face of potential war in Iraq and the regional security threat ignited by North Korea's nuclear program, rather than touring around Alishan.

"Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the government has convened numerous meetings to establish measures to safeguard the nation's security and interests and reduce the economic impact to Taiwan," said Chen.

"I led a tour to Alishan in an attempt to boost confidence in the local tourist industries in the aftermath of the train tragedy. Is such an effort wrong?" added Lee, expressing regrets over Soong's malicious criticism.

DPP Deputy Secretary General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) was then asked if President Chen had given any comments during the conference concerning former President Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) call to change the nation's designation from the "Republic of China" to "Taiwan." He quoted Chen's remarks saying that Taiwan's stance has been consistent and clear.

"Taiwan is an independent sovereignty and its national name is the Republic of China, as stated in the Constitution," Lee said, adding that Chen did not elaborate further.
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