Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian has signalled he will continue his
hardline policy toward the mainland during the rest of his final
term by naming a loyalist as his new "premier", mainland
researchers have said.
In a surprise move, Taiwan "premier" Su Tseng-chang resigned on
Saturday, days after he was defeated by former "premier" Frank
Hsieh in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's "presidential"
primary.
Su said he had resigned to allow Chen more room to plot new
strategies ahead of the March 2008 "presidential" race.
Su is the fifth "premier" to step down during Chen's seven-year
tenure as "president".
Taiwan media yesterday reported that Chen had picked Chang
Chun-hsiung, a loyalist and also a former "premier", to succeed Su.
The appointment is expected to be announced today.
Chang is currently chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation,
which is in charge of dealing with cross-Straits relations in the
absence of official links.
Chang, 68, was the ruling party's first "premier," from October
2000 to February 2002.
Analysts said that the appointment of Chang, a long-term
loyalist and ally of Chen, shows the Taiwan "president" wants a
tight grip on cross-Straits relations.
"Chang is known to be a person without his own views," said Li
Jiaquan, a senior researcher with the Institute of Taiwan Studies
affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"He will listen to Chen and do whatever Chen says," Li said,
predicting that Chang would faithfully stick to Chen's hard-line
pro-independence policy.
The researcher said Chen also intended to demonstrate he is not
a "lame duck" and is still in control.
Chen is embroiled in a corruption scandal and may face trial
after he steps down next year.
"Six 'premiers' in seven years. The frequent changes show that
Chen is not acting out of consideration for the Taiwan people but
just himself."
Li said that Chen's next move might be to plant his favorites
around the new "premier".
"Despite the unity on the surface, Chen obviously doesn't fully
confide in Su or Frank Hsieh," he said.
(China Daily May 14, 2007)