US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI445

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000445 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/RSP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - ROBERT 
PALLADINO 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KPAO, TW 
SUBJECT: "TAIWAN DAILY" COMMENTARY GENTLY CRITICIZES 
PRESIDENT CHEN SHUI-BIAN'S LEADERSHIP STYLE 
 
 
Summary: The pro-independence Chinese-language "Taiwan 
Daily" Tuesday carried a commentary by Dr. Chen Po- 
chih, chairman of the Taiwan Think Tank, in which he 
suggested how "a president for all people" should act. 
Note that President Chen Shui-bian announced in the 
wake of last December's legislative elections, in which 
the ruling DPP failed to win a majority of the seats, 
that he would resign from the chairmanship of the DPP 
and be "a president for all people."  Chen Po-chih's 
article offers gentle criticism of President Chen's 
leadership style.  A summary of the article follows. 
 
"The President for All People [Should] Lead All People 
to Establish Consensus" 
 
Taiwan Think Tank Chairman Chen Po-chih wrote in the 
pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" (02/01): 
 
President Chen Shui-bian announced last December that 
he wants to be "a president for all people," and in 
that same vein he resigned from the chairmanship of the 
DPP after the Pan-Green alliance failed to win a 
majority of the seats in the Legislative Yuan.  In 
principle, a president who is elected the leader of a 
state is naturally a president for all people.  He acts 
on behalf of the country and should serve the interests 
of all its people.  Since President Chen has placed an 
emphasis on being a president for all people, he should 
adopt some more specialized approaches in order to 
fulfill his goal. 
 
The first possible approach for President Chen to take, 
according to Dr. Chen Po-chih, is that "He should no 
longer get involved in any campaign-related affairs and 
should not support any particular political party or 
candidates."  In the meantime, however, President Chen 
must not entirely neglect the policies of his own 
party, which were proposed during his presidential 
campaign. "A president for all people should not give 
up his party's policies or advocacy [positions] and 
simply act as an independent," Dr. Chen writes. 
 
The second possible approach for "a president of all 
people" to take, Dr. Chen suggests, is to manage the 
differences between the Executive Yuan and the 
Legislative Yuan in an impartial manner.  According to 
Taiwan's constitution, the president appoints the 
premier, and the appointee is obliged to carry out the 
policies that the president proposes.  If the 
Legislative Yuan does not completely agree with the 
policies suggested by the Executive Yuan, it is 
constitutionally acceptable for the president to 
facilitate negotiations between the two to work out a 
consensus.  "If the president can adopt an unprejudiced 
and neutral position when coordinating the differences 
[between the Executive and Legislative Yuans] and does 
not insist on taking the stand of his own political 
party with regard to those policies, he can also be 
called as a president for all people." 
 
According to Dr. Chen Po-chih, "For Taiwan's current 
stage, a more valuable option for a president ... is to 
work on a higher level with a broader vision by 
contemplating the interests of all his people, guiding 
his people to work out a long-term development 
direction for the country, and strengthening the 
consensuses of all the people."  To do this and thereby 
adjust any relevant short-term goals and policies is 
what a state leader not under re-election pressure can 
and must do.  In accomplishing this goal, the president 
would not only be "a president for all people" but 
would leave behind a good reputation in  history, Dr. 
Chen writes. 
 
For Taiwan, economic, financial, and public security 
issues are relatively short-term issues that can be 
dealt with by professionals.  But for the long-term, 
issues such as bureaucratic restructuring, educational 
and judicial reform, and improvements regarding cross- 
Strait relations require the impartial leadership of a 
president who can set up multi-party committees to plan 
and resolve them. 
 
"A state leader is obliged to contemplate strategies to 
address these long-term problems, to mobilize more 
people to work on [achieving the country's] objectives, 
and to guide public opinion to form a greater consensus 
in the society," Chen writes.  "A president who can 
advance a country's long-term development by working 
out a direction and strategy that all political parties 
will follow, he can be labeled a successful president 
for all people." 
 
PAAL