Since leaving the office of premier in May of last year -- ending 36 years of distinguished public service -- Vincent Siew (
Though he now has the chance to satisfy his compulsion to speak out, the diplomat-turned-politician has lost the trademark grin that once won him the nickname "smiling Siew."
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
"In the past, my speech tended to be restrained and cautious in consideration of my position. My speech will enjoy much more freedom after my retirement," Siew said shortly before stepping down as premier following the KMT's defeat in last year's presidential race, during which he was Lien Chan's (
The views that he has expressed since then have led to his isolation within the KMT.
Notably, his position that the KMT should stand with the DPP on economic matters has been met with skepticism from his colleagues and many have questioned his allegiance to the party.
Worse still, the openness Siew has shown toward the DPP hasn't earned him gratitude from that party either. DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) has insinuated that Siew covets a position in the DPP government because he longs to return to a position of power.
On hearing the DPP secretary-general's less-than-generous remarks, the equanimous KMT vice chairman lost his temper.
"Don't even think of me like that -- as if I'm a position seeker. I'm not that kind of man," Siew said.
The veteran diplomat and economics official stressed that he made the remarks for the sake of the economy, country and people's well-being -- but not for the sake of his own interests.
As a politician who began his career at the very bottom of the civil service ladder and finished at the top of the administrative branch, Siew undoubtedly has much to be proud of -- not the least of which is his distinguished diplomatic career.
Siew began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1962. By 1969, he had been promoted to consul at Taiwan's Consulate General in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Siew changed tack in 1972 when he joined the Board of Foreign Trade. During his service there, he earned praise for his performance in negotiations with the US on bilateral trade issues and became the board's director-general in 1982.
He was appointed vice chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) in 1988 and in 1990 became Minister of Economic Affairs.
As minister of economic affairs, Siew represented Taiwan at the APEC ministerial meeting in Seoul in 1991 and again in Bangkok in 1992.
He took over as CEPD chairman in 1993. While CEPD head, Siew attended the seminal APEC leadership summits of 1993 in Jakarta and 1994 in Seattle as President Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) special envoy.
In late 1994, he was appointed chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), a position that he held only for a few months. He left the MAC to pursue a successful bid for a seat in the legislature.
However, his career reached its apex in 1997 when then president Lee appointed Siew to the position of premier.
Despite his retirement in May 2000, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) asked Siew to represent Taiwan at the APEC summit in 2000 as his special envoy. However, due largely to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant controversy which was then raging, KMT Chairman Lien refused to let Siew go.
The rub here, however, is that Siew accepted Chen's offer and since then nearly every public statement the KMT vice chairman has made has been highly scrutinized by his KMT critics.
However, Chen kept up the pressure to woo Siew and appointed him as vice chairman of the Economic Development Advisory Conference (EDAC), a gathering of eminent politicians, academics and businessmen, in August last year.
Despite his regular denials of a desire to leave the KMT, Siew's attendance in December at a gathering of the Taiwan Advocates -- a political advisory group established by former president Lee -- renewed talk that Siew would leave the former ruling party to join the "pan-green" alliance.
Siew's apparent dual loyalty -- both to the KMT and its former leader Lee -- has endeared him to few in and outside the party.
Though his words and deeds made him few friends, Siew insists he is acting purely on conscience and for the good of the nation.
"I'm willing to be the crow that caws over the KMT's problems for the sake of the party," Siew said.
Siew has repeatedly affirmed that he will advocate KMT-DPP cooperation on economic matters, despite the insult from the DPP's Wu.
"`National interests first' is the stand that I always take. I will do anything that is beneficial for the nation and the people," he said.
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