The most pressing issues facing the new president are education, the environment, "black gold" politics (murky connections between the worlds of politics, business, and organized crime), and crime fighting. When Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh came out in support of Chen Shui-bian, implying that the DPP represented "the progressive forces in society," Chen's support jumped immediately upward.
他進一步指出，這回選舉「台灣人民對內政問題的迫切感超過兩岸問題」，台灣的當務之急是教育、環保、黑金、治安等，而李遠哲喊出「向上提昇」，更得到選民的支持。