Tsai vows to continue reforms during second year in office

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen pledged Friday (May 19) to continue reforms in her second year in office regardless of praise or criticism, saying the people of Taiwan elected her to resolve problems, not to please everybody.

In a meeting with overseas Chinese journalists at the Presidential Office a day before marking the first anniversary of her inauguration, Ms Tsai also urged Beijing to work together on maintaining peace and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait.

“I know it very well that shrewd politicians usually undertake simple tasks to make themselves likeable,” she said. “However, responsible politicians commit themselves to resolving problems for the country regardless of praise or criticism.”

As Taiwan faces many pressing problems, Ms Tsai said she has no choice but to take up the responsibility to tackle them.

Local media had reported that Ms Tsai would hold an international press conference on Friday to promote the achievements made during her first year in office. However, the Presidential Office denied the reports and said that she only planned to meet disadvantaged children on Saturday to mark the anniversary.

Some speculated that Ms Tsai opted to celebrate her first year in office in a low-key manner due to her waning popularity.

Acknowledging the increasing displeasure among the public with her performance, Ms Tsai said her job is not to please everyone, but to make Taiwan a better place.

“I am not a political strongman who acts arbitrarily,” the president said. “I am a democratically elected leader who has a strong will to push through reforms.”

What she and her administration are doing today is something that her predecessors avoided or had little success in addressing, she said.

A year ago, she promised in her inauguration address that she would commit herself to five tasks during her four-year term: transforming the economic structure, strengthening the social safety net, addressing wrongs committed during the authoritarian rule by the Nationalist Party (KMT), advancing regional peace and stability, and supporting global issues.

On advancing regional peace and stability, Ms Tsai said her promise to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait remains unchanged.

As the world enters a new era, she said she hopes Chinese President Xi Jinping can “correctly interpret the meaning” of the election victory of her and her Democratic Progressive Party, as well as the “continuous goodwill gesture” she and her administration have extended to Beijing since May last year.

“The new issue is how the leadership on both sides of the Taiwan Strait jointly maintain peace and prosperity,” she said.

Beijing unilaterally suspended official contact with Taipei soon after Ms Tsai took office. Her party has traditionally been more sceptical of closer ties with China. KYODO NEWS