President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday expressed his personal support for his nominee for president of the Examination Yuan, Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), saying Yao would serve as an independent official without ideological baggage.
"I believe that after the Legislative Yuan has approved Yao's nomination, he will resign from all his posts within the ruling DPP and transcend party politics and ideology to carry out his work from a position of neutrality," Chen said.
The president was speaking at a tea party held by the Presidential Office to enable him to publicly put his stamp on a list of proposed appointments. The government has faced strong criticism from opposition parties, which have complained that Yao's pro-independence background will have a negative impact on the civil service.
Yao, a senior adviser to the president, is also an unpaid adviser to the DPP.
Chen officially introduced his 29 nominees for posts in the Examination Yuan, the Council of Grand Justices and the Control Yuan. The list includes the posts of president and vice president and 21 member positions of the Examination Yuan, two Grand Justices and four members of the Control Yuan.
"My nomination of these candidates is a sacred duty bestowed by the Constitution. In accordance with the principle that appointments in the service of the country should go to those who are best qualified, each and every detail in the nomination process was handled with great deliberation and caution," Chen said.
Responding to opposition criticism that academic Lin Chu-chih (
The president added that a well-functioning government requires not only a good system but also talented civil servants who get the most out of the system. He said this was particularly important as the government prepares to embark on critical reform projects, including constitutional, government and legal reform.
After the tea party, secretary-general to the president Chen Shih-meng (
When answering reporters' questions about how to deal with opposition threats to vote down Chen's nominations, Yao said that he would do his best to persuade them against doing so, but expressed his displeasure with them nevertheless.
"Even China, which dislikes me very much, would not threaten me so rudely," Yao said.
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