After maintaining a suitable distance from post-election disputes and focusing on reforming his party and reconstituting his Cabinet, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has showed the public that the country is not only moving on but is moving in the right direction.
Chen's decisions so far in reshuffling the Cabinet show that he intends to build leadership in his second term by using the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) own base of talent.
By recruiting new officials, Chen has put the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) failure to reorganize itself in a bad light.
This is a good start.
Chen's greatest challenge now is to translate his campaign message into concrete action. To fulfill his pledges, Chen must have a clear strategy.
Most importantly, Chen must be a chief executive who insists on tough discipline, with Pre-mier Yu Shyi-kun carrying out his policies.
A good executive is one who understands how to recruit people and how to delegate, how to assign authority and responsibility, how to hold people accountable for results and how to mold a group of people into a team.
To accomplish these goals, Chen must succeed in several areas.
He needs to elaborate a strategy. He must explain to the public the direction in which he will lead the nation. What are his priorities? How can he heal the pain and bridge the ethnic divisions that the campaign caused?
He must explain in clear detail how he plans to break the cross-strait deadlock, what pragmatic steps he will take to unite the nation and how Taiwan's economy can be transformed into a new model for globalization.
Moreover, as a reform-minded leader, Chen should take decisive steps to fight crime, reform the educational system and help the disadvantaged.
Chen must build discipline within his administration. One of the key features of the Cabinet's reorganization lies in Chen's recruiting more DPP talent. Doing so helps cultivate the DPP's capabilities as a ruling party and also reinforces Cabinet discipline.
Departmental cooperation can be improved. A more balanced bureaucratic culture can take root.
Chen can reduce displays of "loose-cannon" behavior and policy implementation can be more consistent., eliminating policy flip-flops.
Chen must leverage his assets. His victory in the presidential election should be taken as evidence that the DPP is in line with Taiwan's mainstream. That is, most people believe that the country is on the right track.
The election result reveals a public eagerness for more political stability, economic improvement, governmental reform and social reorganization.
By tackling problems like corruption and crime and addressing issues like economic growth and downsizing of the government, Chen can win the support of people who did not vote for him this time around.
Finally, in addition to "hot issues" like cross-strait normalization and peace, Chen should pay attention to "soft issues" such as school discipline, women's rights, social welfare and healthcare.
If Chen and the DPP show leadership in these desperately important areas, their base of support will grow larger and a favorable environment for creating national unity will be created.
Taiwan's people have paid a high cost for democracy. It's time for Chen to establish himself as a model of leadership for the next generation.
Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with