Since the government came to power last year, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has received different evaluations of his policymaking methods and styles. Even DPP members, including Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), have made repeated complaints. For that reason, following the dispute over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, a nine-member task force was established to bring together opinions from the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan, DPP headquarters and the party's legislative caucus.
The task force was intended to pool collective wisdom and develop coordination. After several months, however, the task force has obviously failed to meet those original expectations, and its very orientation and functions are thought to be in need of reconsideration.
In the existing constitutional framework, the Executive Yuan is the highest administrative body. The president need not, indeed should not, assume sole responsibility for all policies. Even when the president has to deal with crucial national security issues, he can consult the National Security Council (
The root of the problem lies in the Constitution. If politicians do not abide by the established constitutional structure or policymaking system, they will still mess things up even if the task force is restructured.
The second problem is Chen's character. If he cannot change his style of "one-man policymaking," any decision-making or coordinating groups will be reduced to "a group to be notified" or "a rubber-stamp group."
Thirdly, Chen should acknowledge the functions of political parties. He must have known that he could not transcend or withdraw from party activities after assuming the presidency. Instead, he should show leadership toward the arties, and take advantage of their functions to coordinate the executive and legislative branches, as well as to build communication channels between the ruling and opposition parties.
Of course, beginners need time to learn, but Chen has been in office for around 10 months. When making important national policy decisions, Chen should learn to listen to all sides and take into consideration advice made in good faith, communicate and coordinate among different groups, and make final decisions with the utmost care. Chen shoulders the keen expectations of the Taiwanese people. He should conduct a sincere examination of his government's approach to policy-making, starting with a self-critique.
Wang Yeh-lih is chairman of the political science department at Tunghai University.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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