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President explains six reform priorities during TV interview

Last night, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was to give an interview on SetTV (三立電視) to discuss his proposed six major reforms and other issues. This is the third time that Chen has given an extended television interview.

One aim of the televised interview was to clarify matters dealing with a number of cases of corruption and malfeasance within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has long prided itself on being a "clean" administration.

Chen Che-nan (陳哲男), who once served as a Presidential Office deputy secretary-general, has come under suspicion of involvement in a profiteering racket between the Kaohsiung Rapid Transport Corp and a labor brokerage, which came to light after a riot among Thai workers on Aug. 21.

Accusations have also been voiced over the acceptance of a huge stock bonus by China Steel Corp chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵). Lin announced on Saturday that he would resign.

These scandals have hurt the DPP's image, and the situation has been aggravated by the emergence of the "new DPP movement" led by DPP Taipei County Commissioner nominee Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) and recent statements by DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) calling for the party to clean itself up, which have given rise to rumors of disunity within the party.

Yesterday Chen called a high-level DPP meeting to get feedback from senior party members and also agreed to a two-hour interview on SetTV last night to respond to public dissatisfaction with his administration.

As of press time, he was expected to deal with the issues of corruption within the party, the impact of the "new DPP movement," and rumors of disunity within the party.
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