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EDITORIAL: Listen when the people speak

It was a mistake for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to avoid the anti-government rally in Taipei on Saturday by leaving the city. It is reasonable for the public to express their anxiety and dissatisfaction with an administration’s policies through a demonstration, and those in power have no justification for turning a deaf ear.

Toxic milk powder from China has caused public apprehension over food safety. Quality and safety problems with Chinese food products are nothing new, but the government’s reaction has been disappointing. The rally protesting tainted Chinese products reflected the majority of public opinion.

Another cause of anxiety has been the Ma administration’s failure to safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty. A recent public opinion poll found that 28 percent of respondents thought cross-strait exchanges have increased drastically, 38.6 percent thought the government’s policies have harmed Taiwan’s sovereignty and 47 percent of those who said they were politically neutral thought Taiwan’s sovereignty had been compromised — the highest percentage ever.

Ma’s main policy goal has been cross-strait reconciliation, and yet the public thinks Taiwan has lost more than it has gained. The economic benefits of opening up Taiwan to Chinese tourists have not met expectations, the Chinese market has not created major business opportunities and Taiwanese exports to China have decreased. There has been a huge discrepancy between the public’s expectations and Ma’s efforts to protect national sovereignty and seek international space. Many people think Ma is naive and weak, that his policies lean too far toward China and that he lacks courage and tactics to deal effectively with Beijing’s leaders. They do not believe he will safeguard Taiwan.

The government has failed to respond to public worries in timely fashion, or to conduct effective dialog with the Democratic Progressive Party and its allies. The governing and opposition parties have been drifting further apart, to the extent that many people have the impression that Ma and his government care more about what China thinks than they do about the worries of ordinary Taiwanese.

Many people have decided to take matters into their own hands, come out onto the streets and make their voices heard. They hope to counter what they see as Ma’s mistaken policies. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people attended Saturday’s demonstration proves that there is significant public backing for the opposition’s demands. Further protests are expected when Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) visits.

Of course there is always an adversarial relationship between governing and opposition parties, but public opinion cannot be dismissed as nothing more than allegiance to unification or independence ideologies. Above all, when the government finds itself in a weak position in negotiations with China, such protests can provide it with powerful moral and strategic backing.

Those in power must take into consideration the interests of the nation and people as a whole. They need to see beyond the surface turmoil of political strife and observe public opinion trends at the grassroots.

When masses of people come out to express their worries about the government’s cross-strait policy, Ma and his officials should be listening with attention and humility. They should strengthen dialog with those holding different opinions and they should make the necessary adjustments to their policies. Without first establishing consensus and mutual trust within Taiwan, Taiwanese negotiators will have no cards in their hands when dealing with China.

Ma should keep in mind at all times that, since it was the people who entrusted him with the reins of government, he is obliged to take responsibility for the people as a whole.
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