Premier Jiang Yi-huah and the new Cabinet took office today, with Vice President Wu Den-yih supervising the handover ceremony between Jiang and former Premier Sean Chen at the Executive Yuan. Premier Jiang honored the achievements of his predecessor and looks forward to innovation and reform from the new Cabinet, whose goal is to make Taiwan a democratic society of prosperity and propriety.
The new premier said he was honored to receive his new position but that he has also felt intense pressure since his appointment was made public. "I feel apprehensive and cautious, as if I'm balancing on the brink of a deep gulf, as if I'm treading on thin ice," he said. "The Executive Yuan is the highest administrative organ in the country. As its leader, I must shoulder more responsibility than anyone else and lead our country to a better future."
Jiang recalled Taiwan's difficult domestic and international circumstances a year ago, when Chen and his Cabinet took office on February 6, 2012. "A European debt crisis had been brewing since the end of 2011, and many thought it was imminent and would cause a global economic collapse. Domestically, the Cabinet needed to harmonize energy prices, which had not been adjusted for some time although resource prices had changed significantly. Moreover, the Taiwanese economy had long lagged behind its competitors in Southeast Asia. It needed to further integrate with the regional economy so as to revitalize its competitiveness, but the negotiations on the importation of U.S. beef needed to be resolved first. I'm sure the moods of Chen and the Cabinet ministers were quite tense at the time.
"Under Premier Chen's leadership, the government then overcame one daunting challenge after another," Jiang continued. "They did everything they needed to, even though they were criticized, and laid the right foundation for the country's growth. We are now pleased to see a new dawn for the economy over the last few months." He noted that the government's color-coded economic monitor has improved from yellow-blue to green, which symbolizes stability and predicted continued steadiness in the year to come.
"Chen's earnest and responsible attitude and expertise in finance allowed the government to ride out that tough time and see a future full of hope," the premier said. "I would like to express my utmost respect to Premier Chen for his contributions on behalf of our country."
"In the days since Chen said he would hand his post over to me, I've been thinking about how to lead the Cabinet forward," Jiang continued. "We have both new and returning members, and they each have both phases of work to carry out and a core concept of how to serve national development. I sincerely expect that from this day forward, this new Cabinet will be committed to innovation, reform, and making Taiwan a democratic society of prosperity and propriety.
"The reason I emphasize innovation and reform is that there are many challenges ahead. If we do not have foresight and take the lead, unceasingly thinking about a better strategy for the nation, we can only pursue others from behind and never catch up to them. Taiwan has very good competitive opportunities and conditions. In order to actualize our citizenry's excellent qualities, we need to innovate not only in the economic sphere, but also in social and cultural aspects.
"After years of development, many of our systems are showing signs they need reform," Jiang said. He cited the adjustment of the eight social welfare systems during his tenure as interior minister and the current pension reform effort, which is in full swing, as examples of such change. "Every reform faces obstructions and complaints from vested interest groups. I encourage my Cabinet members not to fear criticism or submit to obstructionism. If after scrupulous consideration and deliberation, you conscientiously believe your policy is the right thing to do, you must hold firm and not turn back."
Jiang's aspiration to make Taiwan "a democratic society of prosperity and propriety" is based on the first chapter of the Analects, in which Zigong asks his teacher Confucius, "'Poor without being obsequious, wealthy without being arrogant': what do you think of this saying?" Confucius replies, "That will do, but better still 'poor yet delighting in the Way, wealthy yet observant of the rites.'"
In response to the aphorism presented by Zigong, Confucius proposes a higher ideal, hoping that the poor, besides not being flatterers, happily pursue the best way to live, while the rich, besides not being arrogant, pay attention to their spiritual needs. "Personally, I consider this attitude a spiritual asset of Chinese society's Confucian tradition which applies to all eras and governmental systems," Jiang explained.
"After several decades of experimenting with Western democracy in Taiwan, we have seen both its fruits and its limitations," he continued. "More and more citizens know our democracy is something to be proud of. We have multiparty politics and competitive elections. This, however, has also narrowed our conceptions of democracy, such that we think it is all about partisan politics and electoral mobilization, and the other connotations of a democratic society go unrealized.
"We need to think about how to make concepts of freedom and democracy that originated in the West flourish here in Taiwan, and how to integrate them with the Confucian culture we already have, so that democracy constitutes not only competition but also respect for differing views and rational dialogue. I believe this is an opportunity for change, not only in our national policy, but also in our cultural and political atmospheres.
"This ideal may be too lofty, but if nobody pursues it, we will always be confined to reacting to challenges to current policies. Therefore, I hope all Cabinet members will work together to lay this foundation for our nation. As for our many concrete policies, I hope to further explain them to the public in future Cabinet meetings and administrative reports.
"Aside from fear and solemnity, I also feel great gratitude today. I would like to thank Premier Chen for his leadership in bringing this nation out of an economic valley. Thanks also to our society for their encouragement and expectations of the Cabinet.
"I come from an ordinary family and a small community. I had a happy childhood, enjoyed the opportunity to study abroad, returned home to become a professor and later had the opportunity to shoulder the heavy responsibility of national administration.
"Looking back over the 52 years of my life, I am filled with gratitude. When I discussed with my family the prospect of abandoning my favorite profession—teaching—I convinced myself that I had to pay back society for what it gave to me. If there were no nation to protect us, no teachers to guide us, no medical personnel to care for us, and no engineers to develop our infrastructure, we would not be able to share the Taiwan we have today. When an opportunity arose for me to pay back the society that nurtured us, I ultimately had no reason to refuse or to hold anything back from the job.
"I believe every member of this Cabinet has the same spirit. With that, we will come together as a team and move forward. I hope that whether our terms are long or short, our work will be well done.
"Many people like to quote U.S. President John F. Kennedy's famous words, 'Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.' Today I would like to modify these words and say to this Cabinet, 'Ask not how long your tenure for the country will last; ask what you can do for the country during your tenure.'
"Political appointees have no guarantee for their terms in office. But every day, responsibility is on your shoulders, and decisions are in your hands. You must not forsake this opportunity to serve the nation. Make the right decisions, and don't worry about your service time. Live every day in your office like it's your last. Go all-out.
"I believe the president, the vice president, and the whole citizenry will support this Cabinet. No matter how much we are criticized, remember our ultimate responsibility is to history—to our future generations."
Vice President Wu noted that the Ministry of the Interior was very productive under Jiang's leadership, which came during Wu's premiership. Wu also pointed out that Jiang spearheaded several initiatives as vice premier, particularly pension reform, a matter of great importance to the public. "In these efforts, Jiang displayed both his talent and his communication abilities. He was a famous professor at NTU (National Taiwan University) who poured out everything he had for his students and earned a Ph.D in political science from Yale. He has a courtly demeanor, an open mind and humility. And I believe he will absolutely earn complete and cordial support from his Cabinet and the Legislature," the vice president said.
The outgoing premier thanked his successor and praised him profusely. "Premier Jiang's mind is lucid, and his thinking is clear. He is very calm. He is willing to understand the details and development of every issue. He already understood our pension system when he began leading the reform process, but he needed to understand the particulars of its operation, so he asked several experts to explain every system to him, right down to the Examination Yuan's retirement system. This was very taxing, but it have him an excellent foundation to lead the effort."