On March 12 the pan-blue camp held a "Save Taiwan" rally during which it asked the government to stop fretting about "trivial" issues like the Constitution and start concentrating on things that matter, such as improving people's livelihoods and the apparently "sluggish" economy.
During the rally, various pan-blue heavyweights stepped up to the microphone, blasted the government over the National Unification Council issue and demanded that officials do a better job.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Three weeks have passed since that momentous rally and the public has witnessed how committed the pan-blues are to ameliorating the lives of the people.
Just one day after the demonstration, KMT caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (
On March 28, KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (
On March 29, apparently unaware of the promises their party chairmen had made just two weeks earlier, pan-blue lawmakers were kept busy blocking government bills related to economic development and social welfare in the legislature.
And on March 30, KMT legislators grilled the defense ministry over the lack of defenses on the outlying Spratly and Pratas island groups. This from the same party that has consistently blocked the arms procurement bill and thereby jeopardized the defense of Taiwan.
How exactly do these issues benefit the livelihoods of ordinary people? The KMT and People First Party called on the government to improve livelihoods, but then let their lawmakers waste the government's time on unrelated issues. And where was Ma, the man who made the pledge, while all these matters were being discussed? The KMT chairman was in the US on a 10-day fling, schmoozing with top US officials, promoting himself, not Taiwan, and solidifying support for his 2008 presidential bid.
While the DPP is not entirely blameless, as it has done a poor job of selling its bills in the legislature, the pan-blues, despite what they promise, seem more than content to continue blocking government legislation for the next two years -- as they have done for the last six -- safe in the knowledge that come the next election they can slam the DPP government as incompetent.
Until the pan-blues learn from other "functioning" democracies and develop a basic understanding of how to behave like a real opposition -- by working with the governing party to amend and review legislation while blocking only the most contentious bills -- then there is little hope for anyone.
The time has come for Ma and his pan-blue colleagues to put aside the political grandstanding and start practicing what they preach.
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