Thu, Mar 02, 2006 page8

• Editorial: Ma's razzle dazzle falls short

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  Long before President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) finalized his decision on the fate of the outdated National Unification Council and unification guidelines, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had already threatened to recall him should he dare to consign the council and guidelines to the dustbin of history.

  Just as soon as Chen announced that the council had officially "ceased to function" and the guidelines "ceased to apply," KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) beat China to the punch in objecting. Ma said an exasperated KMT would unite with the People First Party (PFP) and the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union to initiate a motion to recall Chen. He also said there would be a large-scale march on March 12 to demonstrate their disapproval.

  Given the high vote threshold required to recall a president, and Ma's admission that the motion is unlikely to be approved by the necessary two-thirds of the legislature, why all the fuss?

  Ma said the KMT needs to express its condemnation of Chen, regardless of the likelihood of a recall motion being passed.

  Yet one can't help but wonder if Ma is acting as China's footsoldier, or simply showing off in a bid to please Beijing, just as he did a while back when he said he hoped the KMT Youth Corp would one day produce a leader like Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).

  Just think how delightful it must be to Hu to know that the leader of this nation's largest opposition party sees him as a role model -- and to see how fast Ma is willing to jump into a brawl with Chen, whom Chinese leaders rank right up there with former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) as their "most despised" people in Taiwan.

  In a recent interview with Newsweek magazine, one of Ma's more predictable statements was that unification with China is the ultimate goal of the KMT.

  One wonders if Ma hesitated even for a moment to think about the impact his words would have on the nation's military. In view of China's more than 700 missiles targeted at Taiwan, how can the nation's service members build up their consciousness that China is the biggest threat to Taiwan's national security when they know that this country's main opposition leader wishes to unite with China some day?

  In a recent interview on the BBC's Hardtalk program, host Stephen Sackur noted that China had deployed more than 700 missiles at Taiwan, and Ma replied: "Yes, and not just Taiwan, but other places too."

  Yet Ma has not been heard to protest the growing number of missiles: Perhaps he feels Taiwan shouldn't fear China's military deployment because it is part of China.

  Given that Ma has long been regarded as the KMT's most likely contender for the 2008 presidential election and possible future leader of this country, one only hopes that he realizes that his every statement and deed is being closely watched and analyzed by the public, Taiwan's allies and other international observers.

  He has yet to demonstrate a firm willingness to stand up for Taiwan's interests or strong ability to lead. His performances this week are unlikely to convince his critics of otherwise.
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