Before the election, Chen declared that he would create a supra-party advisory body to help him organize the cabinet, and that Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh would be in charge of cross-strait matters in this advisory group. Chen also promised that if elected he would convene a National Affairs Conference to build a consensus among political forces.
陳水扁在選前表示，組閣事宜將諮詢跨黨派的國政顧問團，並由李遠哲院長主導兩岸事務，而且承諾在選後將召開凝聚朝野共識的國是會議，不管何者，都有助於紓緩少數總統的決策困境。