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.
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