The new government has been in office for almost three months. How well it has done -- and how the public has responded to it -- are plain to see, even though many might argue that it has been in office for too short a period to justify any conclusion.
But DPP secretary-general Wu Nai-jen
To call Tang's Cabinet good for nothing is going too far, because the military, ethnic and cross-strait stability that Tang represents has been indispensable in the peaceful transition of power. That was why both the Presidential Office and the DPP called Tang an "irreplaceable figure" when he asked to resign in the wake of the Pachang Creek tragedy
But apart from his stabilizing role, Tang has little to show for his months as premier. The Cabinet has been busy fire-fighting. We can all see that Tang has been working very hard, but the Cabinet has had its hands full trying to deal with various emergencies and fend off criticism. It has been unable to take the initiative and draft new policies.
Because of Tang's KMT and military background, the talent-pool he falls back upon is from the KMT. The people he has appointed, like minister without portfolio Chang Yu-hui
Having worked for decades under the KMT system, Tang's political judgments are -- not surprisingly -- based on old-fashioned thinking and methods. In the military, the officers give orders and do not need to coordinate very much. But the Cabinet's functions are extremely complicated and require professional knowledge of finance, economics, administration and law, among others. These are far beyond Tang's experience. On top of this, he has no strong official on his team to assist him. As a result, he has difficulty making decisions during ministerial meetings.
Meanwhile, the ongoing barrage of sarcasm from the KMT and the PFP is eating the DPP's heart out. Under pressure to win next year's legislative and local elections, top DPP officials regret Tang's Cabinet can't be as steely as they want it to be -- and this is what Wu was speaking about yesterday.
It is unfair, however, to put all the blame on Tang. The new government is not his creation alone. Within Taiwan's semi-presidential framework, President Chen Shui-bian
After the democratization of Eastern Europe, many of the democratic parties that came to power failed to live up to their people's expectations. As a result, they were soon replaced as reformed Communist parties made a comeback.
Tang's Cabinet has now accomplished the historic, peaceful transition of power. Wu's criticism of Tang marks a watershed in the new government's progress. The honeymoon is over. If Tang's ability and determination cannot forge a vastly improved performance, the pressure to dissolve his Cabinet next year may come from the DPP itself.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry