Ma may now find it very challenging to put out the fire in his own backyard. One after another, pan-blue candidates in this year’s elections have started removing pictures of themselves and Ma because he is becoming a liability. More seriously, many are eager to have him removed. Even People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) has been mentioned as a possible replacement. Can Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) serve as a shield against such power struggles? We will have to wait and see.
Some pan-blue legislators have already held press conferences telling Ma to stop thinking about the 2012 presidential election.
The significant point here is the “veil of ignorance” that John Rawls wrote about. Those civil servants who try to curry favor with Ma, such as Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) in Chen’s corruption trial, should consider their actions very carefully.
Chin Heng-wei is editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
RSS