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Post-Election 2008: Chen to invite Ma to observe military drill next month

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will invite president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to observe a computerized military drill next month as part of his bid to ensure a smooth transition of power, an official at the Presidential Office said on Sunday.

Chen instructed the National Security Council (NSC) ahead of the presidential election to invite the winner to attend the military drill, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Chen also offered his congratulations immediately after Ma won Saturday's poll and vowed to maintain political stability, the official said.

Chen, whose second four-year term will end on May 20, has seen institutionalizing the transfer of power as a major democratic engineering task that needed to be achieved during his term in office, the official said.

Taiwan's first transfer of power -- from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) -- occurred in 2000.

The official, a former NSC employee, said that in 2000, intelligence, military, diplomatic and cross-strait officials did not know whether they should brief Chen because it was the first time in the nation's history that the KMT had lost power after 50 years of rule.

Chen eventually received the briefings after an order from then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), the official said.

Lee also set up a special task force for the peaceful transfer of power after Chen was elected, the official said.

To institutionalize the transition, Chen quickly pushed for political neutrality and loyalty to the country rather than a party within the military and intelligence agencies, the official said.

Chen has also said on numerous occasions that as long as the military is stable, the entire country will be stable, the official said.
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