Sat, Oct 27, 2001 page1

• Chen writes of peril in the nation's first transfer of power

  • By Lin Mei-chun / STAFF REPORTER
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  The first transfer of power in the nation's history was fraught with danger and there was certainly little guarantee that it would be completed peacefully, according to a new book penned by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

  According to the president, the transfer of power occurred because of the incoming administration's powers of moral persuasion rather than because of procedures, since most governmental agencies were unwilling to cooperate with the new DPP government.

  Chen made the comments in his book entitled The Premier Voyage of the Century (世紀首航), which will appear on bookshelves next week.

  "The fact that there was not a single document left in the National Security Council demonstrates the problem the staff working in the Presidential Office had to deal with, as most administrative departments were reluctant to be our partners."

  The president also discusses the conflicts within Taiwan's intelligence community in the early days of his administration and how he tried to thaw Taiwan-US ties after former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) announcement that cross-strait relations should be "special state-to-state (兩國論)" in nature.

  Chen expresses great concern over the viability of the transfer of power. Chen writes, "if any missteps occurred, whether power could be peacefully transferred would be put into question."

  Despite Chief of the General-Staff General Tang Yao-ming's (湯曜明) public pledge on March 18, the eve of the presidential election, to "faithfully serve whomever is elected," Chen wrote that he doubted whether the power shift would really come off peacefully.

  Because of a void in related regulations created under previous KMT administrations, according to the president, no one had a clue on how to proceed.

  Upon taking office, the president writes of the series of thorny issues, both foreign and domestic.

  Writing of how he was prepared by Lee, Chen writes of the confusion at the time. "While [former president] Lee made some attempt to clarify many issues, [issues related to the power shift] were far from clear.

  Chen added that Lee told him "he had forgotten to tell him something, but in fact, Lee may have forgotten many things."

  Domestically, he needed to calm the disquiet of KMT supporters, not used to being in opposition. Then he had to deal with a military unused to defending a non-KMT government made up of what had been an outlawed group -- ?the DPP, led by a commander-in-chief who had represented a previously anathematized concept -- Taiwanese independence.

  He says he appeased anxiety in the military by building trust with military leaders and by helping them understand the idea that "whoever intends to destroy Taiwan should be considered enemies."

  On the international front, US-Taiwan relations were at a low ebb and cross-strait relations appeared to have hit bottom due to Beijing's hostility toward Chen.

  Under his leadership, he wrote that he has exerted tremendous time and effort to mend ties with the US.

  Though unstated, the main theme of the book might be discerned when Chen writes "that it is high time that Taiwanese society stipulate regulations relating to executive power transfer to prevent similar problems from happening again."
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