Taipei, March 17 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Sunday his Democratic Progressive government is "unconditionally, genuinely and sincerely supportive" of the World Taiwanese Congress held in Taipei.
Chen told the second annual World Taiwanese Congress on its opening day that Formosans overseas unconditionally support Taiwan. "Likewise," President Chen said, "the new government is unconditionally, genuinely and sincerely supportive of the World Taiwanese Congress."
The government, Chen said, is not satisfied with the results of democratic reform and will continue to pursue further progress.
To strive for economic progress, Chen continued, Taiwan has to reform its political system because the current government was not designed for an island nation with a population of nearly 23 million people. It is not a government system that will allow the country to be effective and competitive in the global market, he said.
Legislature must undergo reform as well, Chen pointed out. The number of legislative seats has to be reduced and the election system improved, he added.
The third major re-engineering task at hand is the reform of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Chen said, adding that the former opposition party, whose major aim was the promotion of a democratic movement, is incapable of interacting with the government after it came to power.