Tue, May 18, 2004 page3

• New MAC head wants to be bearer of peace

  OLIVE BRANCH Joseph Wu is slated to become the new chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council. He has declared himself a bearer of the president's goodwill

  • By Lin Chieh-yu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who has been described as a good example of someone with Taiwanese awareness, said that he would like to serve as the peace messenger between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).

  Wu is slated to become the chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) after the presidential inauguration on Thursday.

  

  Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Joseph Wu, who is slated to become the chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, speaking to reporters yesterday.

  PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES

  "I am confident that President Chen is devoted to creating a breakthrough in the cross-strait relationship after his inauguration, during which his speech will absolutely display Taiwan's sincerity and vision to Beijing, and my duty is to carry out the presi-dent's and the government's goodwill," Wu said.

  Taking the realization of a meeting between Chen and Hu as his political goal, Wu hopes to portray himself as "a carrier pigeon bearing an olive branch, rather than an eagle preparing to fight."

  "People have defined me as a pro-independence radical, even describing me as acting `extremely hawkish' in the face of Beijing's various threats and intimidations," Wu told the Taipei Times, "but I regard myself as a pragmatic and sincere member of staff."

  "Concerning cross-strait relations, what I hope for is a breakthrough, rather than passive conservatism," Wu said.

  With a background in academics, Wu's field of study was cross-strait relations and Taiwan's position in the international arena.

  He is one of the few people in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration who entered government from academia, but has been an exceptional case of winning respect in the bureaucratic system while establishing a good relationship with the media.

  "Wu is strongly supported by President Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮). This is a goal that is not even attainable by DPP personnel. This shows that Wu is tough on the outside, but is much more flexible inside, and has an exceptionally good ability to adjust," said Presidential Office Spokesman James Huang (黃志芳).

  Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), executive director of the Institute for National Policy Research, said Wu plays an important role in the Presidential Office's drive to build bridges with Beijing.

  "President Chen and his wife and Vice President Annette Lu have paid numerous overseas visits that substantially increased Taiwan's exposure in the international arena. The planning of these difficult tasks have shown that Wu -- a political neophyte -- has an exquisite coordination ability, and the ability to accomplish the mission satisfactorily," Lo said.

  Lo said that Wu's other important characteristic in arranging the president and vice president's meetings with foreign guests was that he not only plans the schedules, but also assists the president to a great extent in conveying messages to the international community.

  "In the last two years, in many of Chen's important policies, including `one country on each side,' the referendum and constitutional amendments, Wu has played the essential role of interpreting the president's rationales to the international media." Lo said.

  "Current MAC Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is a senior general who communicates with the US for Taiwan, as well as being the president's core staff member. Wu is an outstanding candidate to succeed Tsai in these two important missions," Lo said.

  Lo said that the president still has the final say when it comes to cross-strait policy. The MAC is only a policy execution unit. The position of a chairperson should not be characterized as either hawkish or dovish, but the main thing is that the chairperson should clearly grasp the president's logic in cross-strait talks.

  "Wu's experience could be expected and trusted to grasp the core of policy planning right away," Lo said.

  Wu is an "intellectual" from the 1950s. Before he entered the presidential office, he had been a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University.

  Wu was born in a noble family in Changhua. In high school, Wu's uncle was imprisoned for attending book-study meetings. The memory of such incidents during the White Terror period helped to establish his strong sense of Taiwanese identity, and he longed to join the democratic revolution.

  He said yesterday he feels fortunate to be entering the policy-making system, and to be able to participate in national policy affairs. Now, having been appointed by Chen, transferring from the Presidential Office to the MAC, he will face even more difficult challenges.

  "Being responsible for the management and operation of a whole bureaucratic system is my challenge. I hope that the MAC can have more humor, and more trust. I also believe that my pragmatism and sincerity can once again win the respect and cooperation of the bureaucratic system," Wu said.
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