SUMMARY OF PREMIER FRANK HSIEH'S OP-ED IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 000479

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: SUMMARY OF PREMIER FRANK HSIEH'S OP-ED IN
"TAIWAN DAILY" CONCERNING HIS POLITICAL THINKING


Summary: The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" ran an
almost one-page op-ed by Taiwan Premier Frank Hsieh
entitled "From 'Co-existence and Cooperation' to
'Taiwan Consciousness': My Political Thinking" that
said (2/2):

CO-EXISTENCE AND COOPERATION; THE PEOPLE'S VOICE

The ideals of "co-existence and cooperation" are to be
implemented as the new administration takes office.
"The new cabinet will be a `stability cabinet' that
responds to people's expectations. `A stable political
situation' is our priority goal. `Dialogue and
negotiation' is our method for reaching that goal. And
`co-existence and cooperation' is our central
thinking."

Cooperation between political parties and co-existence
between different ethnic groups is vital to stability.
I have mentioned in several interviews and in an
article published a few days ago the new thinking of a
"non-zero-sum" game, which aims at resolving many
problems that could not be solved by the "zero-sum"
struggles of the past.

I believe that the evolution of civilization is a
process of moving from "zero-sum" systems toward "non-
zero-sum" systems. "Taiwan's experiences over the past
four years have proved that the 'zero-sum' system
cannot resolve Taiwan's political problems. Continuous
internal struggle and confrontation only make Taiwan's
civilized development go backwards. Everyone in Taiwan
will be a loser. In order to deal with the internal
and external challenges Taiwan is now facing, we must
create a more refined and delicate `non-zero-sum'
political system."

"This system will provide for negotiation and dialogue
mechanisms at different levels. All political parties
can maintain their basic propositions while seeking
open agreements in areas that they can cooperate on
with each other. Based on getting a consensus for
policy priorities, a 'stability alliance' can be
established in the Legislative Yuan and act as a stable
majority. Furthermore, the sharing of administrative
powers will also be an expected result."

ADMINISTRATIVE IDEALS; DIALOGUE WITH SOCIETY

Everybody has noticed that mainstream public opinion in
Taiwan reacted positively to the proposal of a cross-
party dialogue. This indicates that the majority of
the public is tired of confrontations under "zero-sum"
politics. Based on their collective wisdom, the people
of Taiwan are calling for a new political system. My
article and interviews have received many responses
from academic circles, business circles, and the
general public. This shows that my proposal of "co-
existence and cooperation" is what the people want now.

"Of course, there will be criticism and doubt. Some
are concerned whether entering a dialogue means one has
to give up one's positions. Others worry that co-
existence will result in losing one's self. Still
others question whether the suggestion of instituting
cross-party cooperation is anything more than lip
service."

These reactions are all expected. I mentioned in my
article that it would be hard to promote co-existence
and cooperation in Taiwan society, which is in need of
"trust." All the criticism and doubt are but signs
indicating the lack of "trust."

What is the meaning of my political thinking? What
impact will it bring about? These questions can be
examined in the future with regard to what I will have
done. But as I believe it is important for political
figures to communicate with society, I would like to
share some of my basic ideas, including what I am doing
right now, for further discussions.

REBUILD TRUST AND START FROM ONESELF

The basis for "coexistence and cooperation" is trust in
society. In the "prisoner's dilemma," two prisoners
will benefit from each other if there is trust between
them. Without trust, there can be neither a "non zero-
sum" outcome nor "co-existence."

Trust is the most important asset of a society. It is
the foundation for the development of the economy and
culture. According to neo-institutionalism in
economics, trust is an important mechanism for reducing
transaction costs and stabilizes the environment for
investment. In other words, ample trust is
advantageous for the development of an economy.
Leaders form the ruling party and the opposition
parties are, thus, responsible for creating trust in
society.

"Our society lacks trust, and the government, political
parties, media and other departments are all
responsible for that." The fact that no one is
building trust in society means that any trust that
exists is constantly eroded away.

Everyone should cherish the existing trust in society
and restrain statements or behaviors that may destroy
that trust.

"I would like to call upon the people to rebuild trust
in society. I want to tell everybody that we are still
willing to choose to believe in humanity as well as
other people although betrayals take place in the
world."

"Trust needs to be accumulated incrementally and it
takes time to examine whether a political assertion or
a political figure is trustworthy. Even though some
people may choose a negative or a suspicious attitude,
there should be a beginning to establish trust."

FORMED DYNAMICALLY - TAIWAN'S CONSCIOUSNESS OF ITSELF
AS AN ENTITY

"Since 1987, I have been proposing the theory of
`Taiwan's Community Fate. The theory is supported by
`four priorities,' such as Taiwan first, the
disadvantaged first, culture first, and environment
first." These four are the priorities that should be
considered when the government sets policies.

". There is not a clear, fixed, and static boundary for
`Taiwan's Community Fate,' but the identity for members
of the `Taiwan's Community Fate' is formed dynamically.
It is a process, not a result. The formation of
`Taiwan's Community Fate' cannot rely solely on a
theory because there are always rival points of views,
and there are always exceptions. The `Taiwan's
Community Fate' is dynamically formed by practice,
public events, and collective memories. The
identification of `Taiwan's Community Fate' will be
strengthened, not weakened, continuously through the
future efforts of the Cabinet. `Negotiation and
dialogue' and `co-existence and cooperation' are the
most powerful mechanisms for consolidating `Taiwan's
Community Fate.' Hence, any chance that Taiwan's
consciousness of itself as an entity will disappear is
not going to happen."

"The purpose to stress Taiwan's consciousness of itself
as an entity is not to annihilate those who do not
agree. Within a community of shared fate, there are a
consciousness of an entity and tolerance. Since there
is tolerance, then there is the so-called `Taiwan
first' mentality. ... `Co-existence' means that other
things may exist at the same time due to tolerance.

PRAGMATIC NEGOTIATION DOES NOT MEAN TO GIVE UP [ONE'S]
IDEALS

Before I assumed the premiership, I published two
articles to elaborate on my personal philosophy of life
and my political ideas. Since I entered politics, I
have always told myself to practice what I preach and
act consistently, hoping that I could thus win the
trust of other camps that have different political
views from mine. "Cooperation between different
political parties is a brand-new thing in Taiwan, so
many people are worried. In a previous article that I
wrote, I called upon all political leaders in both the
ruling and opposition parties to bring their political
imagination and moral courage into full play in order
to make the first critical move [i.e. cooperation] for
Taiwan's future in the long run. The `zero-sum'
confrontations between political parties in Taiwan must
be resolved first before a new `non zero-sum,' `co-
existence' situation could be created across the Taiwan
Strait.

On the other hand, I want to tell our people that since
the DPP government has failed to win a majority of the
seats in the Legislative Yuan, it will be very
difficult to get our bills or budgets passed. In order
to promote our policies, cooperation among the
political parties is a must, and as a result, pragmatic
concessions become inevitable. "But I will not view
pragmatism as an goal; it is just a way of doing
things. As for concessions, it just means that [we
need to] slow down or to detour [on our way to]
realizing our goals; it is not to give up our goals."

BALANCED DEVELOPMENT; FROM SELF EXISTENCE TO CO-
EXISTENCE

"To truly incorporate the concept of `co-existence'
into the government's administration, I emphasize a
balanced development of economic growth, social
justice, and environmental humanism, and I want to
start by improving Taiwan's public security."

Why do I want to put the improvement of Taiwan's social
order as a top priority for the administration of my
"stability cabinet?" It is still based on my "co-
existence" theory. The promotion of cooperation among
different parties and various ethnic groups are kinds
of "co-existence" for groups, but without each
individual's "self-existence," there is no "co-
existence" of groups. Thus, before implementing the
"co-existence" for various groups, we must first
properly handle the problems concerning the "self-
existence" of each individual. That is why public
security, which involves the citizens' rights to be
free of fear and to enjoy security regarding their
lives and property, should be addressed first.

"To put it in a simple way, economic growth, social
justice and environmental humanism should form a right
triangle as their importance weighs equally with regard
to the government's administrative performance."
Inside this triangle, economic development is the first
issue that should be dealt with because without
economic growth, social justice and environmental
humanism can hardly be maintained.

"Taiwan has a sound economic foundation, and the
financial and economic policies of former Premier Yu
Shyi-kun's cabinet have also been moving in the right
direction, as evidenced by the recovery of Taiwan's
economic growth rate and the reduced unemployment rate
this year. With regard to our economic policy, what I
want to do is to continually ease our policies and
restore [economic] vitality, so that many economic
activities that were restricted by the obsolete laws or
regulations of the past can be conducted naturally. ."

PAAL