Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday told the legislature that it is not up to him to decide whether he will stay in his job after the Dec. 3 elections.
"Whatever happens to me will be fine. As long as I keep the right attitude, if I have to step down in the future, it would be because the heavens think it is good for me," Hsieh said.
Saying that he currently has no plans to resign, the premier added that he will definitely "make adjustments" to his Cabinet team, although he has not yet made any specific decisions.
The premier made the remarks in response to questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (
Hsieh acknowledged that he has not enjoyed good relations with the legislative body, but said he still believes in the value of "reconciliation and symbiosis" -- ideas he advocated when he was appointed by President Chen Shui-bian (
In response to another question from Lee, Hsieh denied that he had criticized Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao (
"I have never criticized any of my Cabinet members for `showing off like a hero,'" Hsieh said.
"But I have said that the Cabinet should work as a team. Any form of heroism will not be allowed in the team," he said.
Lee said that he read about the premier's alleged criticism in the local press, although he could not find any record of this on the GIO's Web site. He questioned whether the content of the record could have been manipulated.
Yao said that he had no idea whether the file on the Web site had been modified.
The query came in response to a story in the Chinese-language United Daily News on Thursday which said that Hsieh was very upset with Yao during last week's legislative meeting after an angry Yao decided to leave the review meeting at which the GIO budget for next year was discussed.
Yao stormed out after KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (
Yao later returned to the meeting, during which the GIO's budget was dramatically slashed.
According to the report, Hsieh had expressed his unhappiness with Yao during the legislative meeting.
The report quoted Hsieh as criticizing Yao for "showing off like a hero" and complaining that his behavior would cause monetary problems for the GIO next year.
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