Thu, Mar 11, 2004 page3

• Believing in the people

  In the second half of a two-part exclusive interview with the `Taipei Times,' President Chen Shui-bian promises to continue promoting democratic reform and the establishment of a Taiwanese identity

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  Taipei Times: You have promised to expedite the formulation of a new constitution once you take office for your second term, with the goal of having a draft of the constitution approved by referendum in 2006 and formally brought into effect when the new president takes office in May 2008.

  The US and the international community are concerned that this might in fact be the path toward Taiwan's independence, although you have promised that the terms of reference for the new constitution will not change the status quo and have emphasized that constitutional reform is a process on which the survival of Taiwan's democracy depends, and has nothing to do with independence or unification.

  

  President Chen Shui-bian reads documents at a campaign event in Taichung County last Friday.

  PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

  But, if a majority of the people called for changing the country's flag, name or territorial boundaries, would your government push that kind of constitutional reform? Or would it ignore the will of the people and just avoid such sensitive topics in order to preserve stability in the Taiwan Strait?

  

  President Chen Shui-bian speaks to the Taipei Times on Tuesday.

  PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

  President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁): I announced my "five noes" in my inauguration speech in 2000. I cannot say one thing in 2000 and then say another once I get re-elected. I have stressed many times that we must maintain the status quo, maintain Taiwan's current sovereignty, democratic development and economic affluence, maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait.

  Not only do we want to maintain the status quo; we also want to avoid the status quo being changed unilaterally. The kind of constitutional reform we wish to promote -- including when we have been re-elected -- will be promoted on the basis that it preserves Taiwan's status quo; that Taiwan's status quo will not change.

  The current constitution was ratified in 1947 in China in a process in which the people of Taiwan did not participate, a process to which they did not agree. Of the 175 clauses in the constitution, at least two-thirds need amending.

  These include the questions of whether to go the American route and establish a presidential system of government, or take the British course and establish a cabinet government, and whether we should have three branches of government or maintain the current five.

  As far as the election of the president is concerned, should we opt for a simple majority or an absolute majority? Should we have two tiers of government or three? In addition, on basic human rights, economic development, compassion for the weak, there are many issues that are affected by the articles of the Constitution.

  If we are to create additional posts, such as deputy premier and deputy speaker of the Legislative Yuan, we will need to revise the constitution. If we are to reduce the voting age by two years from 20 to 18, we will need to revise the constitution.

  TT: Each time there is an election, there are always people who bring up the topic of an ethnic melting pot and accuse others of harming ethnic minorities. Which party do you believe is doing the most to promote ethnic harmony, and which is doing the most to promote conflict? When you have been re-elected, what will you do to deal with the ghost of ethnic strife, which haunts Taiwan?

  Chen: I have always believed that Taiwan's multiethnicity is one of the resources of which we can be most proud. In the past our ethnic differences allowed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to promote a one-party state, with the ethnic minorities on the sidelines, using them, controlling them. But the Democratic Progrssive Party (DPP) respects ethnic minorities. Now, all ethnic groups can express themselves, freely develop and pursue their dignity and their own future. In the past, when immigrants from China wrote letters to their relatives in China, they risked being arrested. The DPP was the first party to call for them to be allowed to visit their relatives in China. Also in the past, the Hakka and Fujian dialects and other native tongues almost disappeared under KMT suppression, but the DPP established a Hakka Affairs Commission, Haaka radio and TV stations, enabling Hakka culture to put down roots. The DPP promotes and has implemented education in one's native tongue; we renamed "Chiehshou Road" (介壽路), "Ketagalan Boulevard," called the Aboriginal people by their rightful names and signed a New Partnership agreement with Aborigines to promote their autonomy.

  The problems facing Taiwan right now are not ethnic problems, but problems of legitimacy. True instability comes from KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) constantly changing position on cross-strait relations. The people of Taiwan are unhappy with his understanding of nationality; they are unhappy with his running mate, People First Party (PFP) chairman James Soong's (宋楚瑜) insistence on "one China under one roof."

  For my part, I insist on three things to bring about ethnic harmony. First, I insist on ethnic equality, including equality of opportunity, resources and rights. No ethnic group is superior, much less inferior, to any other. Let's allow ethnic groups to get on with each other on an equal and peaceful footing. Second, I insist on a diversity of values: continued support for the cultural resources of all ethnic groups, respect for ancient ways of life, encouragement for creativity and interaction between different cultures all contribute to Taiwan's special character and all are capable of contributing to Taiwan's future and its heritage. Third, I insist on democracy and freedom. The greatest safeguard for all ethnic groups is a democratic and free society, because it is only within a free and democratic society that we can achieve rational change and replace confrontation with humanity. We share a common identity, which is that we are all citizens of this great country.

  TT: There is no doubt that Taiwan has an emerging national consciousness, which is different from the Chinese consciousness that the KMT tried to impose after 1949. Some people have, however, expressed frustration with the pace of the reform of institutions to reflect this new national awareness. These people ask why the DPP government hasn't done more to move education and culture -- even national symbolism -- away from the Sinocentric system of the KMT.

  What kind of measures would you like to implement in your second term to build a stronger Taiwan consciousness?

  Chen: In the past four years, the government has strongly promoted Taiwanese consciousness. More than 50 percent of the people see themselves as Taiwanese rather than Chinese. This is what we have achieved in promoting Taiwan's self-awareness. Of course this is not enough.

  A lot of people still see the enemy as their place of origin, and still see Taiwan as part of China, as a subsidiary or constituent of China.

  We keep trying to explian that Taiwan's culture is like an ocean, and is fed by hundreds of rivers. Hundreds of years of different cultures have merged into this society and made a rich soil in which Taiwanese culture can grow.

  Whether it's the culture of Spain, the Netherlands, the Qing Dynasty, Japan, even the USA or other countries, all can become part of Taiwan's culture.

  Some say that the promotion of "Taiwanese consciousness and Taiwanese recognition" (台灣意識、台灣認同) is "de-Sinicization" (去中國化). This is incorrect. Our aim is to consolidate Taiwanese consciousness. What this means is that Chinese culture is only part of Taiwan's consciousness, not vice versa.

  In order to strengthen these concepts, our task is to make Taiwan a normal, complete, great and beautiful country. That's why we need to push for the new constitution. As a nation, Taiwan is still incomplete and abnormal. We wish to complete a new constitution that corresponds to the current state and can be ratified by all citizens. This would be my main task in my second term.

  Therefore, we wish to pass a new version of the Constitution through referendum by the end of 2006, and commence its application on May 20, 2008, during the new president's inauguration.

  Campaign Promises

  TT: The peaceful transfer of power was a milestone for Taiwan's democratic development. However, when leading the nation to continue to march on the path of democracy, the rule of law and reform, you obviously have suffered many obstacles during the past three years. What was the most difficult challenge and what was the greatest achievement by your administration?

  Chen: The 54-year rule under the KMT have created many complicated problems, and these need to be solved step by step. We have made progress in many fields, such as the nationalization of the military, bringing the intelligence agencies under control, promoting neutrality in the government, and the independence of justice system in past three years. As for other issues, we are confident we will conquer the remaining obstacles in the next four years.

  Since my inauguration on May 20, 2000, the world has experienced an economic downswing; therefore, boosting the economy is one of the key administrative issues on my agenda. Over the past three years, many governments have been aggressively executing plans to enhance investment opportunities, help private enterprises with their business transformations, and develop knowledge-based economies.

  The Executive Yuan has proposed the "Challenge 2008 ? Six Year National Development Plan," which is a blueprint giving a head start for my administration. This plan aims to push for the elimination of political and financial corruption.

  At the same time, the government also plans to develop the nation's semiconductor and flat-panel industries over the next few years, each with a production value exceeding NT$1 trillion.

  During the next six years, the funding for science and technology research and development will be increased to account for 3 percent of the nation's GDP.

  Once I win my re-election bid, my administration will terminate three major problems: the chaos of the political scene, the Legislative Yuan's continual conflicts and Constitutional disorderliness. We will endeavor to normalize the interaction between the DPP and the opposition alliance as well as cross-strait relations. We also expect that after the legislative election later this year, the interaction between the Cabinet and the Legislative Yuan will be improved.

  TT: In the first year of your adminstration, you officially announced that the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant would cease. However, under pressure from the Legislative Yuan, which was dominated by opposition parties, your decision was overturned. Will you bring up the controversial issue again in the future? Has former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) ever expressed his opinions on the matter to you?

  Chen: The anti-nuclear movement is not motivated by any political ideology, but by the desire for sustainable development in Taiwan. We can't leave our future generations with the problem of nuclear waste, the toxicity of which lasts for tens of thousands of years. It's not only selfish, but also irresponsible. The decision to halt construction was made based on the premise that Taiwan would not suffer from power shortages even if the power plant does not exist. Unfortunately, most people have only focused on the possible financial loss resulting from the halt rather than future expenditures in dealing with radioactive waste caused by the completion of the construction. At that time, the Legislative Yuan remained dominated by opposition parties, so we had no choice but to reverse our decision to stabilize the political situation.

  The relaunching of the construction led to the establishment of a widespread desire to turn Taiwan into a nuclear-free nation. The newly-established Environmental Basic Law also clearly proclaimed the goal. So the law makes Taiwan officially the first nuclear-free country in Asia. In the legislative elections, both the DPP and I hope to mobilize people to hold a referendum on the issue at the same time.

  The future of the nuclear power plant will be finally decided by the people.

  Final phase

  TT: You have appealed to the public to consider a leader's personal traits, and if you wanted to elaborate to an international audience about the differences between you and Lien, which leaders and lessons from history can you offer as examples?

  Chen: In this election, the two sets of candidates have formed a strong contrast. Lien and I are from different backgrounds, have different beliefs, represent different generations and have very different personal traits. I believe in myself, believe in the people, believe in Taiwan and am not afraid of difficulties and will persist to the end.

  Meanwhile, Lien does not persist,does not support, does not believe and he is dishonest, irresponsible and has not changed.

  I think that the issues faced by every leader are unique, and a leader has to find the answers himself. Whether you are talking about Kennedy, Roosevelt, Churchill or Gandhi, the challenges and environment they faced were not the same and they had different styles in dealing with the issues.

  But they all have the same personal traits: they were all aggressive and persistent. What is more important, they all believed in the people and believed they could conquer all difficulties by standing firm on the side of the people.

  A real leader must be able to point out the direction for the people and map out a future instead of trying to gain support by wishing the country bad luck and withdrawing from reality.

  Lien became the candidate for the pan-blue camp because the old power in the pan-blue camp wanted to have one last try at repressing the new generation, and it was also a convenient way for the KMT and PFP to divy up the power between the two parties.

  Lien's moral defect lies in his long-term accumulation of personal assets and his deep involvement and relationship with corrupt criminals in the past. Further, he has been weak and wavering on the issue of national identification, and this is something that is not acceptable in Western democratic societies. A candidate with such qualities could never even become nominated, so it is very difficult to think of an example with which to compare Lien.

  TT: In the last presidential election, KMT candidate Lien and PFP Chairman James Soong, who ran as an independent candidate, together won around 60 percent of the vote, while you won 39 percent. There are only about ten days of campaigning left. All the pollsters say the two camps are neck and neck. Will you prove the pollsters wrong?

  Chen: In this election, while I'm happy for Lien and Soong to have come together because they have demonstrated that one and one do not always make two. All the polls, taken together, show that they don't have anywhere near the 60 percent support rating that they enjoyed in 2000 and that, when I win this year's election, it will be despite Lien and Soong forging an alliance.

  It's clear from the opinion polls that the Chen-Lu ticket enjoys the support of about 40 percent of voters. We have not merely retained the support of the 39.3 percent, who voted for us in 2000 because, of the 80 percent of voters who have expressed a preference, 40 percent have declared for us. If we take account of those voters who have not yet expressed their preference, then I have already gained the support of approximately 50 percent of the voters and am effectively in the lead. I believe that the margin of victory in this election will be between 3 and 5 percent, or between 300,000 and 500,000 votes.

  Four years ago, the polls put the Chen-Lu ticket ahead by only 0.4 percent just two days before the election, but our eventual margin of victory was in fact 2.7 percent. In the opinion polls in the current campaign, we've already destroyed the myth that one and one always equals two and exceeded our previous level of support of 39.3 percent. The Chen-Lu ticket is in the lead, but we mustn't be complacent. I am confident of being elected, however, because if you believe in Taiwan and believe in the people, you will win.
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