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Straits foundation may choose Chang as its next head

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator and former premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday refrained from either confirming or denying speculation that he will fill the vacancy left by the late Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫).

Chang yesterday avoided answering questions on whether President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had asked him to take the top post at the SEF, saying only that it was inappropriate to discuss whether he wanted the post.

Chang would not say if he was willing to take the post if invited, saying only that he would not take the initiative to secure the position.

He did not, however, rule out the possibility of taking the job. He said that in light of the divisive response the "Anti-Secession" Law had caused, the most urgent task at hand was to build domestic consensus on cross-strait affairs.

Chen's meeting with People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and China's passage of the Anti-Secession Law have caused some changes in cross-strait relations, he said.

Koo had been the nation's top cross-strait negotiator as the head of the semi-official SEF, which oversees cross-strait contact in the absence of normal ties across the Taiwan Strait. Koo set the groundwork for cross-strait negotiations with several landmark meetings with his Chinese counterpart from the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, Wang Daohan (汪道涵).

SEF Secretary General Johnnason Liu (劉德勳) has been the acting SEF chairman since Koo's death in January.

"The position is a very difficult one, and without public support all efforts would be useless. It would be missing the point by focusing on the details and discussing possible candidates for the position," Chang said.
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