Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma's name has been dragged through the mud over the last six months as every aspect of his personal life and professional career have come under intense scrutiny.
The results do not make happy reading for his fans.
First, of course, was his indictment. Ma immediately resigned from the KMT chairmanship in line with the party's "black gold" clause, but then stood by silently as the party repealed the clause -- which he had introduced -- because it would have prevented him from running as the party's presidential candidate.
Then during the trial, Ma maintained that he believed the special mayoral allowance was for personal expenditure, but outside of court he had said the opposite -- that he considered it was only for public expenditure -- directly contradicting himself on a number of separate occasions.
This was followed by the Taipei Arena scandal, where a senior official in Ma's former administration was indicted on charges of bid rigging in return for bribes. There was also the small matter of another Ma aide being found guilty of forgery in the special allowance case and being sentenced to 14 months in prison. Ma himself was not implicated in the accountant's actions, but it showed that despite all his stated intentions, the man who preaches clean politics is as helpless as the next man when it comes to ridding Taiwan's political scene of corruption.
Next came the chaos of the Maokong cable car project, where Ma's haste to get the project finished during his tenure left Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (
But most damaging of all was Ma's vow to run for president even if found guilty in his first trial. This showed a blatant disregard for the rule of law and the judiciary, and ran contrary to everything that he once stood for -- and indeed was once in charge of as minister of justice.
The transformation from prissy, principled, politico to profligate, power-hungry presidential candidate was complete.
On the surface Ma may once have promised to be different from the KMT of old, but the last few months have proven beyond doubt that a Ma presidency would consist of the same old vintage KMT, just rebottled. The same vintage that voters rejected in the last two presidential polls.
The KMT's belief that an innocent verdict holds the key to the presidential palace -- demonstrated by the joy on the faces of KMT officials and Ma supporters outside the court -- may prove to be misplaced as the ugly memories of the last few months will have put off many moderate voters who were previously planning to stump for Ma next March.
Because while Ma was proclaimed innocent in court, he is most definitely guilty of letting his party's desperation to regain power cloud his judgement.
Whether this will have a definitive effect on the outcome of next year's presidential election is hard to predict, but it is safe to say that many people will never look at him in the same light again.
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
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
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
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry