In September 2006, members of the opposition and a section of the media initiated a mass protest in Taipei. Called the Red-shirt Army, they resorted to any means possible to try to paralyze the government, and ultimately force President Chen Shui-bian to step down. The threat against President Chen and his government peaked on October 10, the National Day of the Republic of China (Taiwan), when the Red-shirt Army, also called the Red Tide, interrupted President Chen’s address in front of hundreds of foreign guests and the general public, spoiling the celebrations. The international media and friends of Taiwan questioned the leniency with which President Chen handled the protesters. Many government supporters were also anxious that President Chen was not tough enough in his response, and that he should do more to prevent the mobs and the media from creating further social unrest.
President Chen remained calm amid the political turmoil and was unwilling to take drastic action. “If I allowed this kind of internal chaos to rattle me, how then could I deal with the even bigger threat that China’s military poses to Taiwan?” Therefore, President Chen called for the government to continue operating normally, and for the military, police and public service agencies to go on performing their regular duties. He repeatedly urged the public to remain rational and to have faith in the government. His sober judgment and firm faith at that critical juncture are the hallmarks of a truly outstanding leader, and public calm was soon restored.
President Chen has a legal background and is a firm believer in the rule of law. He understood well that clamping down on the protestors, as was being asked of him, was to risk losing in an instant the hard-won fruits of democracy in Taiwan. The people of Taiwan suffered untold hardships under authoritarian rule before achieving democracy. President Chen was determined not to let Taiwan slide back into authoritarian ways; rather, he wanted to lead the people of Taiwan in their march down the road to democracy, freedom, human rights and peace.
Guided by such vision, President Chen and his party played a vital role in Taiwan’s first transfer of power in 2000. Four years later, in 2004, the people expressed their continuing faith in the administration by returning President Chen to power for a second term. Yet a seemingly endless string of local and international events over the last seven years has meant that Taiwan has barely had a moment to catch its breath. However, bolstered by the mandate given to him by the people, President Chen’s determination is unparalleled and he continues to lead his administration in working for the best interests of the Taiwan people.
In 2003, he signed his name to the Referendum Act in order to further solidify democracy and place greater power in the hands of the people. The Act was another solid step forward to realize the universal value of popular sovereignty. In May 2005, the National Assembly was abolished and constitutional amendments relating to parliamentary reform were completed. In 2006, President Chen announced that the National Unification Guidelines ceased to apply, thus returning the right to decide Taiwan’s
future to the 23 million people of Taiwan. Meanwhile, President Chen did not want Taiwan, one of the world’s emerging democracies, to be bound by an inappropriate and ill-fitting constitution. In order to allow Taiwan to become a great and normal nation sooner rather than later, he set about creating a new constitution that better reflects the people’s expectations.
Foreign affairs have long been difficult for Taiwan, a fact that has never been truer since President Chen took office and China the past seven years. It also offers a look into the world from a Taiwan perspective. Just prior to the publishing of this book, the WHO Secretariat again rejected Taiwan’s application to join that organization, remarking that Taiwan is not a sovereign nation. However, according to the latest public opinion poll, 77% of the people of Taiwan support using the name “Taiwan” in its bids to join international organizations, whereas only 10% oppose this strategy. This proves that Taiwan-centric consciousness, which began taking root long ago in this land, has now firmly taken hold and is part of the mainstream way of thinking in Taiwan. It is Taiwan-centric consciousness that is the driving force in this country. While this is deeply gratifying for us, we hope that the international community will listen to the voice of the people of Taiwan, respect the defacto existence of Taiwan’s sovereignty and make the correct decisions accordingly.
It is a fitting end to highlight the significance of this book by answering the question: what is the name of this nation? President Chen and the people of Taiwan both have the same answer: “Taiwan is our country, and the most beautiful and powerful name for it is Taiwan.”Preface
2006年9月，「紅衫軍」結合在野勢力及部分媒體，發起鋪天蓋地的群眾抗議行動，企圖以各種手段癱瘓政府運作，進而迫使陳總統下台。10月10日國慶日當天，在全國民眾及數百名外賓面前，他們不但干擾陳總統發表演說，並破壞典禮的進行，讓這波「紅潮」對陳總統及執政團隊的威嚇，達到了最高點。目睹此景象的國際媒體及友人，質疑陳總統是否過於「寬容」，許多支持政府的民眾也感到憂慮，不斷要求陳總統要「硬起來」，以更強硬的作法來阻止群眾與媒體的亂象繼續蔓延。
面對這個政局紛亂、恐慌瀰漫的艱難局面，陳總統卻面不改色、不為所動，因為「如果面對這樣的一個內部紛擾都亂了方寸，那如何面對來自中國的軍事威脅？」。除了要求執政團隊持續正常的政務運作、軍警及公務體系堅守崗位，更不斷呼籲國人理性以對，相信政府。在最危急時刻，陳總統展現了一個國家領導人的優良素質，冷靜的判斷、堅定的信心，迅速穩定了民心。
對於民眾「亂世用重典」的期待與要求更強硬的作法，學法出身的陳總統雖堅持法治，但也清楚瞭解，稍有不慎，得之不易的民主果實將一夕消失。台灣歷經千辛萬苦從權威走向民主，陳總統堅持絕不讓台灣再走威權的回頭路，而是帶領台灣人民大步向前走對的路，堅持走民主之路、自由之路、人權之路、和平之路。
在這樣的信念下，2000年我們完成了政黨輪替，更在2004年取得人民的信賴而繼續執政。但7年來國、內外的局勢卻一刻也無法讓台灣喘息。陳總統以無比堅定的信念，在人民的力量為後盾下，持續領導執政團隊為台灣打拼。為了讓民主持續深化與鞏固，陳總統除了在2003年簽署「公民投票法」，真正落實主權在民的普世價值。隨後也在2005年5月成功的廢除國民大會，完成國會改革的修憲工作。緊接著在2006年批示「國統綱領」終止適用，把決定台灣前途的自由權利還給2300萬台灣人民。而同時，台灣身為全球新興民主國家的一員，卻被不合宜也不合身的憲法給綁縛，成了不正常的國家。為了早日讓台灣成為偉大而正常的國家，如何催生出一部符合人民期待的新憲法，成為陳總統念茲在茲的重要課題。
台灣外交處境原本就艱難，自陳總統上任後，中國在國際上的打壓與封鎖更變本加厲。台灣若想躍上世界舞台，需要更多元的創意，總統與夫人吳淑珍女士以鐵人般的意志及勇氣，突破一次又一次的困難，成就了豐碩的外交成果。而同時，如何更勤快與友邦「搏感情」並進一步以民主、人權與人道關懷取得友好國家的信賴與支持，也成了拼外交的核心思維。7年來，陳總統的足跡踏遍了台灣所有的邦交國，成了有史以來第一個訪遍所有邦交國的台灣總統。若再加上無邦交的國家以及過境美國、歐洲等重要城市，陳總統任內所出訪的次數與國家總數，比前幾任總統的總和還要多。而這些國際夥伴，無論在台灣加入聯合國（UN）、世界衛生組職（WHO），以及許多與台灣相關的國際議題上，都展現了珍貴的友誼，為我們伸出溫暖的援手。
另方面，極其諷刺的是，與台灣民主成果相伴隨成長的，竟然是海峽對岸愈來愈多的飛彈瞄準台灣，以及不斷擴張的軍備。如何維護台灣的安全，但又能平等與中國對話，成為台灣領導人愈來愈嚴峻的考驗。陳總統在軍隊國家化的前提下，一方面積極爭取並建立台灣完善的防衛力量，同時在確立主權、民主、和平、對等的架構下，毫無畏懼的與對岸展開對話，更不忘時時呼籲國際社會共同促進中國的民主化，以實現區域的永久和平與繁榮。
除了外交及兩岸，國人對陳總統「拼經濟」的印象深刻。即便政局騷動、政治情勢不利，仍堅持要親自訪視企業，在第一線與企業經營者座談，實際瞭解企業的經營困難，並指示紓困的方向，陳總統深信經濟是台灣賴以生存與發展的重要命脈。除了要求政府要能成為企業的夥伴之外，陳總統更希望執政團隊能以全球的視野，協助台灣企業「深耕台灣、佈局全球」，更由此延伸「積極投資台灣，創造就業機會」一體兩面的具體思維，落實成為執政團隊的各種經濟與就業政策。
而同時，陳總統擔心經濟發展的成果若不能平均而有效的分配，將會拉大城鄉的差距，使貧富懸殊加劇。雪山隧道的通車、高速鐵路的興建完成，乃至於中部、南部科學園區的設立，都是思考平衡北南、拉近城鄉差距的具體實踐。正因為自己就是鄉下長大的小孩，陳總統對貧窮與弱勢的體驗深刻，時常親自下鄉並探視社會邊緣人或小人物，藉由對弱勢族群的關注，希望國人都能夠耕耘心中的福田，讓愛起飛，讓富人不會驕傲，讓窮人不被歧視，實現互助互信並充滿溫暖的社會。
這本《深耕台灣 迎向世界》中的影像與文字，具體的呈現了陳總統7年來對台灣前途的思考、對台灣社會的關注、以及從台灣來觀看世界的視野角度。時值圖文集出版前夕，WHO秘書處以「台灣不是一個主權國家」為由，封殺台灣的入會申請案。但根據一份最新的民意調查卻顯示，在台灣，絕大多數（77.3％）的民眾贊成以「台灣」名義申請加入國際組織，不贊成的民眾僅一成左右。這證明，台灣主體意識不但早就在這土地上萌芽生根，如今已經綠葉成蔭，蔚然成為台灣民意主流，成為推動台灣前進的動力。在我們感到欣慰的同時，也期待國際社會傾聽台灣人民的聲音，尊重這個客觀的事實，並做出正確的決定。
最後，就像這本《深耕台灣 迎向世界》所顯示的意義，若要問我們的國家名字為何？陳總統與台灣人民一樣，都將大聲說出：「台灣是我們的國家，台灣更是我們最美麗、最有力的名字。」