The Presidential Office’s statement on Wednesday that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was not involved in the decision to allow construction of the 23-story I Pin Building (一品苑) in the Boai Special District (博愛特區) when he was Taipei mayor should come as no surprise.
The exoneration of Ma over actions deemed to have jeopardized his security now that he is president is just the latest example of his avoiding responsibility for anything controversial or potentially embarrassing that occurred on his watch.
Other examples include the infamous NT$1 billion (US$30 million) Maokong Gondola mess, which has been closed for more than a year since mudslides made it unsafe. Contractors and low-level engineers took the blame at the time, even though it was top-level maneuvering that resulted in the project avoiding an environmental impact assessment.
Ma also escaped censure in February when the China Chemical and Pharmaceutical Co was fined after failing to declare a conflict of interest when it signed a lucrative deal to supply drugs to Taipei City hospitals in 1998. At the time, Ma was mayor and one of his sisters was the company’s deputy manager.
A complete list of such incidents is too long to list here, but they span Ma’s tenure as mayor and continue into his presidency.
The most recent example came in August, when Typhoon Morakot exposed the government’s woeful preparations and disaster-response effort. Decisions by Ma and his inner circle arguably exacerbated the suffering and contributed to the death toll, yet it was left to Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and a few members of his Cabinet to fall on their collective swords, even as Ma belatedly toured disaster-hit areas apologizing, yet refusing to accept substantial responsibility.
All these examples have a common thread: Others take the heat while Ma remains on his pedestal. But as president, Ma has fewer places to hide. That is why from day one of his presidency he has attempted to highlight that under the Constitution the president is a figurehead and the premier is responsible for the day-to-day running of the country.
While the Constitution may state that the office of president only bears responsibility for cross-strait affairs, national defense and diplomacy, public perception is not dictated by the law and a majority of the public still view the president as the nation’s leader — someone whose job it is to make the big decisions and take the consequences. Ma has to cast off his legal blinkers and understand that. After all, it is the president who chooses the premier and other top officials. If they are not up to the task, then he is responsible.
Former US president Harry Truman famously had a sign on his desk reading: “The buck stops here.” If Ma had such a sign, it would read, “The buck doesn’t belong here.” His previous ironclad popularity has begun to suffer because of this.
If he continues in this vein, Ma may well ensure he leaves office with his self-esteem intact, but the overarching memory for many will be that of a weak president unwilling to face up to the consequences of his actions.
Is a new foreign partner for Taiwan emerging in the Middle East? Last week, Taiwanese media reported that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) secretly visited Israel, a country with whom Taiwan has long shared unofficial relations but which has approached those relations cautiously. In the wake of China’s implicit but clear support for Hamas and Iran in the wake of the October 2023 assault on Israel, Jerusalem’s calculus may be changing. Both small countries facing literal existential threats, Israel and Taiwan have much to gain from closer ties. In his recent op-ed for the Washington Post, President William
Taiwan-India relations appear to have been put on the back burner this year, including on Taiwan’s side. Geopolitical pressures have compelled both countries to recalibrate their priorities, even as their core security challenges remain unchanged. However, what is striking is the visible decline in the attention India once received from Taiwan. The absence of the annual Diwali celebrations for the Indian community and the lack of a commemoration marking the 30-year anniversary of the representative offices, the India Taipei Association and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center, speak volumes and raise serious questions about whether Taiwan still has a coherent India
A stabbing attack inside and near two busy Taipei MRT stations on Friday evening shocked the nation and made headlines in many foreign and local news media, as such indiscriminate attacks are rare in Taiwan. Four people died, including the 27-year-old suspect, and 11 people sustained injuries. At Taipei Main Station, the suspect threw smoke grenades near two exits and fatally stabbed one person who tried to stop him. He later made his way to Eslite Spectrum Nanxi department store near Zhongshan MRT Station, where he threw more smoke grenades and fatally stabbed a person on a scooter by the roadside.
Recent media reports have again warned that traditional Chinese medicine pharmacies are disappearing and might vanish altogether within the next 15 years. Yet viewed through the broader lens of social and economic change, the rise and fall — or transformation — of industries is rarely the result of a single factor, nor is it inherently negative. Taiwan itself offers a clear parallel. Once renowned globally for manufacturing, it is now best known for its high-tech industries. Along the way, some businesses successfully transformed, while others disappeared. These shifts, painful as they might be for those directly affected, have not necessarily harmed society
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