President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu attended a luncheon in honor of the media. He welcomed the attendees and held a raffle of prizes. He said to the reporters, "I wish you the best of everything from the very beginning of the Year of the Dog."
He expressed his desire that Taiwan is prosperous in the coming year and he was apologetic to the reporters for all the extra work they had to handle during the recent Cabinet reshuffle, saying that it was an extremely difficult task. He offered his support and appreciation to Premier Frank Hsieh and his executive team for their hard work.
He shared his motto "loyalty, earnestness, and perseverance" with the journalists and members of all executive teams. "We must not only be loyal to ourselves, the land and the people, but also be devoted to our duties without fear of difficulty. We must be able to face all challenges or pressure, and make use of the highest level of wisdom to overcome the challenge. With perseverance, we harbor no fear of stumbling. Even if we stumble, we know we'll get right back up again and stand on our own feet so that we can walk further and march toward success."
The Vice President said that the President will soon be able to hold his third grandchild and offered her congratulations. She then said that in the future, the post-WTO Taiwan will also be able to become a member of the World Health Organization and that after the Cabinet reshuffle, the government will become more efficient and Taiwan will be able to "Go! Go! Go!" in the year ahead.