It was bizarre to see President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) giving a dressing-down to Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (林陵三) and the director-general of the Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau over the flooding of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway during Typhoon Haitang.
It may come as a shock to some, but typhoons bring a tremendous amount of rain and can place terrible strain on roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Every year sections of road are closed, damaged or washed away altogether. It's the price one pays for living in a densely populated country subject to extreme weather on a regular basis.
So imagine the shock Lin must have felt when Chen warned him so publicly that he would be given his marching orders if a low-lying stretch of freeway in Tainan County flooded again. It did not seem to matter to the president that the stretch of road was already being elevated and would have been flood-free in a matter of weeks. Unfortunately for the minister and the road crews, Haitang decided not to take any notice of the freeway bureau's construction schedule -- or the president's popularity rating.
Chen's behavior was even more mystifying given that Lin's ministry has put in a solid performance during Chen's time in the Presidential Office, and has been largely untroubled by the obstructionism of the pan-blue camp in the legislature. Unlike a number of agencies and individuals, this ministry has been delivering on its promises, and a lot of ordinary people have taken advantage of that efficiency.
Some examples are worth noting. The second north-south freeway was completed in good time, bringing much relief to local commuters and long-haul travelers. The Taipei-Ilan freeway, including the long-labored-over Hsuehshan Tunnel, is due to open at the end of the year, allowing motorists to drive from Taipei to Suao (蘇澳) non-stop.
Elsewhere, construction is beginning on a branch freeway to Puli (
Plans for an extension of the Ilan freeway to Taitung are also complete, and although this project is not without considerable controversy owing to its potential environmental impact, it does not reflect the work of a bone-idle, incompetent ministry.
Ordinarily, such a performance by a minister and his team would mean solid support from the president and the premier, who would offer soothing words whenever mishaps occur. But not in this case.
Typhoon Matsa's northerly path and cloud structure suggest that Lin will keep his ministerial post for the time being, and continue running his reasonably tight ship. If Chen is still looking for a fall guy in his Cabinet to humiliate over poor work performance, he might instead do well to consider Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Chang Kuo-lung (張國龍), whose agency's half-hearted response to an oil spill on Lanyu (蘭嶼) invites condemnation.
Given that he himself traveled to Lanyu several years ago in a show of support for Aboriginal autonomy, Chen might also want to give himself a good tongue-lashing for not doing the right thing by the Tao people of Lanyu and cracking down on the EPA. As an educated man, Chen should be well aware of the wise old Confucian dictum of cultivating one's own virtue before demanding it of others.
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