Everybody gets fed up with their job from time to time and thinks about quitting and embarking upon a more leisurely career path.
Believe me, there have been many occasions when I have become so hacked off with the shady world of professional journalism that I have considered packing it all in to become -- yes, that's right -- a gravel-truck driver.
That would be the life, traveling the length of our picturesque island without a care in the world, taking in the beautiful scenery, subsisting on a diet of betel nut, Long Lifes and Whisby and stopping for no one (literally!).
But it came as a shock to all of us career daydreamers this week when Minister of Transportation and Communications Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪) resigned to take responsibility for decisions on the electronic toll collection (ETC) project that she did not even make. Her move was so noteworthy that she may have set a global precedent: the first person ever to step down for something she didn't do.
If public figures in Taiwan were to suddenly start stepping down from their positions because of things they didn't do, this could set off a flurry of resignations.
Who next? Will pneumatic songstress Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) resign her post of Taiwan's "queen of pop" because she didn't actually sing on any of her hits? (C'mon, you can't really call that singing.)
Will the director of the Democratic Progressive Party's policy committee hand in his notice for his complete failure to come up with any policies (other than at election time)?
Or will the entire legislature take early retirement over its refusal to pass any legislation? We can live in hope.
Talking of jobs that nobody wants, poor old Prez A-bian (陳水扁) and the office he holds has taken a real bashing over the last few months. The stature of the position and the perks of the job have been so diminished by all these recent shenanigans that it is a wonder anyone still wants to stand for president in the 2008 election. Following on from Kuo's resignation, this could be another precedent for Taiwan -- the first ever presidential election where nobody stands as a candidate.
Now there's an election race that even former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
While we're on the subject of Lien and his party, I must admit I found it rather funny to hear KMT Legislator and consensus-creator extraordinaire Su Chi (
So much for the "agreement" Lien signed with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) that supposedly gives Taiwan "room" in the international community. The Chicoms obviously believe in the old paradox that "more is less."
With that in mind and the spending behavior of top officials in the media limelight recently you'd have to say that "more is less" definitely fits the bill when one considers loser Lien's big fat pension.
One other rather costly retiree who didn't make the front page recently over the extraordinary amounts of cash she received from state coffers was the late Soong Mei-ling (
I'm referring to an article that ran in the China Times on Aug. 2 which revealed that keeping Peanut's wife in the manner that she was accustomed to in the US during the last 30 years of her extremely long life cost Taiwanese taxpayers around NT$1 billion (US$31 million). Apparently, this even included a chauffeur for her niece Kung Ling-wei (孔令偉). I just hope they didn't get an ETC on-board unit fitted to the Mercedes, otherwise that's going to end up costing us taxpayers even more.
It makes one wonder how the upkeep of one reclusive old lady could be so expensive. Maybe it had something to do with the cost of cleaning half the contents of the National Palace Museum, which were reportedly kept in her secluded Long Island estate?
And where was the graft-busting monk on this one? I'm talking about that rug-wearing serial bore, KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅); after all, it has not been long since he promised to expose "misuse of funds" on both sides of the political spectrum.
It's not as if he can say he didn't have enough time.
And finally, good news this week for everybody's favorite Teflon mayor and "model father" Ma Ying-jeou (
Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that according to scientists with the Kaohsiung City Government and based on the movements of the city's Chaishan (柴山) area, Taiwan is edging toward China at the rate of about 7cm a year, which will mean that the two will become one in about 1.5 million years -- just enough time for the Chinese Communist Party to have completed the transition to a democracy under the US' policy of "engagement."
Ma is on record as saying he favors eventual unification. With this news he'll be a happy little jogger, because it will be one less decision for Mr Sit-on-the-Fence to make if he becomes president in 2008.
Heard or read something particularly objectionable about Taiwan? Johnny wants to know: dearjohnny@taipeitimes.com is the place to reach me, with "Dear Johnny" in the subject line.
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