Throughout the five days, where was Ma? When Ma should have been in the streets convincing the public of his sincerity, he was nowhere to be seen. Instead of sincerity, the public saw arrogance. Despite being the people’s representative, Ma felt he didn’t have to explain himself to the public.
This is the increasing contention in Taiwan. Not only is Ma seen as incompetent, but he is also viewed as arrogant. If there are any Taiwan watchers in the US or Europe who have doubts about how Taiwanese view Ma’s ineptitude, they only have to examine the following: It took US President George W. Bush six to eight years in office to convince the majority of Americans of his lack of leadership and ineptitude; Ma has been able to do the same for Taiwan in only four months.
Jerome Keating is a writer based in Taipei.
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