With an outstanding record as Kaohsiung mayor, Frank Hsieh (
Hsieh's minority Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government in Kaohsiung City had itself encountered relentless acts of obstruction and boycotts in the city council.
Hsieh adopted a low-key approach and quietly negotiated with the opposition parties. In doing so, Hsieh gradually won over the support of city councilors regardless of affiliation. Hsieh's achievements in Kaohsiung have been impressive, earning him solid support in that electorate, support which should transfer to the national stage.
Chen has stated that the next Cabinet should focus on negotiation, dialogue and stability. This can only impress and benefit a public with political battle fatigue. Hsieh's softer approach, intelligence and sense of humor are the qualities needed for the job, if anyone is going to pull it off.
A number of legislative bills that fueled opposition protests during Yu Shyi-kun's term as premier -- such as the arms procurement package -- have passed through the most difficult phase, and this might allow the government and the opposition to become more cooperative.
The previous Cabinet also failed to adequately sell its well-intended policies to the public and the opposition. This should be avoided by the Hsieh Cabinet.
The Cabinet should also form an administrative team that can implement negotiations with legislators behind the scenes, and so share Hsieh's burden in pushing through policies of national importance.
Over the last three years, the Yu Cabinet has been hamstrung by the DPP's bitter conflict with the pan-blue camp. Members of the Chen administration have been unwilling to communicate face-to-face with hostile legislators and provide a clear explanation of government policy.
The result of this was that negotiations between the DPP and the pan-blue camp were conducted between legislators who were already sharply divided. The result was a repeated breakdown in communication.
To achieve a better result, the DPP should show a sincere willingness to share government resources, releasing a portion of them for use by opposition parties. It should be more accepting of the needs of the opposition.
Only in this way will successful communication and negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties be possible, and only in this way will a resolution of the confrontation that exists in the legislature be found.
Because there is still a minority government, Hsieh must show the political acumen that he displayed as Kaohsiung mayor and develop a good understanding with the members of the new legislature.
In this way he will be able to assist the DPP administration create an atmosphere of detente. Only then will the DPP be in a position to focus on cross-strait issues, promote Taiwan's economic development and assist Chen in building a brighter future for the country.
On May 7, 1971, Henry Kissinger planned his first, ultra-secret mission to China and pondered whether it would be better to meet his Chinese interlocutors “in Pakistan where the Pakistanis would tape the meeting — or in China where the Chinese would do the taping.” After a flicker of thought, he decided to have the Chinese do all the tape recording, translating and transcribing. Fortuitously, historians have several thousand pages of verbatim texts of Dr. Kissinger’s negotiations with his Chinese counterparts. Paradoxically, behind the scenes, Chinese stenographers prepared verbatim English language typescripts faster than they could translate and type them
More than 30 years ago when I immigrated to the US, applied for citizenship and took the 100-question civics test, the one part of the naturalization process that left the deepest impression on me was one question on the N-400 form, which asked: “Have you ever been a member of, involved in or in any way associated with any communist or totalitarian party anywhere in the world?” Answering “yes” could lead to the rejection of your application. Some people might try their luck and lie, but if exposed, the consequences could be much worse — a person could be fined,
Xiaomi Corp founder Lei Jun (雷軍) on May 22 made a high-profile announcement, giving online viewers a sneak peek at the company’s first 3-nanometer mobile processor — the Xring O1 chip — and saying it is a breakthrough in China’s chip design history. Although Xiaomi might be capable of designing chips, it lacks the ability to manufacture them. No matter how beautifully planned the blueprints are, if they cannot be mass-produced, they are nothing more than drawings on paper. The truth is that China’s chipmaking efforts are still heavily reliant on the free world — particularly on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Tuesday last week apologized over allegations that the former director of the city’s Civil Affairs Department had illegally accessed citizens’ data to assist the KMT in its campaign to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilors. Given the public discontent with opposition lawmakers’ disruptive behavior in the legislature, passage of unconstitutional legislation and slashing of the central government’s budget, civic groups have launched a massive campaign to recall KMT lawmakers. The KMT has tried to fight back by initiating campaigns to recall DPP lawmakers, but the petition documents they
RSS