Last year was a bad one for national leaders around the world, most of whom were unable to hold their heads high. Although it is difficult to satisfy the public at a time of economic downturn, high unemployment, global warming and complex domestic political, economic and social problems, this is a test of our leaders.
Like US President Barack Obama, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) started off with high approval ratings and has since seen his popularity drop. But these two leaders have responded very differently to the situation.
In an interview with ABC anchor Diane Sawyer last Monday, Obama made a memorable statement that many leaders — world or otherwise — could stand to learn from: “I’d rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president.”
Ma, meanwhile, has responded to his party’s losses in local elections and legislative by-elections by bringing in King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) to orchestrate election campaigns as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) secretary-general and woo back voters.
He is also working to improve communications with pan-blue legislators and is reportedly trying to restore the funeral subsidy for veteran soldiers to win back deep-blue voters and consolidate grassroots support.
Since the first day of his presidency, Ma’s hopes for a second term in office have been obvious. His actions and words are guided by this agenda.
The government’s policies are aimed at ingratiating itself with the public with the next presidential election in mind, while true reform has stopped for fear of displeasing voters. The government’s rescue and reconstruction efforts in the wake of Typhoon Morakot inspired Ma’s critics in the media to quip that “a corrupt president” had been replaced by “a stupid president.”
Taiwan and the US have their own challenges to face in terms of healthcare. Although liberals and conservatives alike have attacked Obama on the issue of a national healthcare program, he remains as determined as ever to see through a reform that he believes is imperative. Though the Democrats lost the recent senatorial by-election in Massachusetts — a sign of public uncertainty about the healthcare system and other matters — Obama is not looking ahead to the next election. He might even be burning bridges by insisting on tackling a major problem rather than ingratiating himself with voters and Congress.
By comparison, Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良), who wants to raise premiums to cover funding shortages, is being accused of taking the public’s hard-earned money without so much as calling in debts owed by Taipei and Kaohsiung cities. Taipei’s debt to the national healthcare system stands at more than NT$34 billion (US$1.06 billion), while Kaohsiung’s is NT$16 billion. These debts have taken an undeniable toll on the health insurance system. Significantly, Ma is partly responsible for Taipei’s role in this conundrum.
Ma should look to Obama, who acknowledges public anger, and ask himself whether he is listening to the public — and whether he understands its point of view. Government reform will remain at a standstill until Ma stops making re-election his top priority. And if the government starts delivering a quality administration, maybe then the public will reward Ma by re-electing him.
China badly misread Japan. It sought to intimidate Tokyo into silence on Taiwan. Instead, it has achieved the opposite by hardening Japanese resolve. By trying to bludgeon a major power like Japan into accepting its “red lines” — above all on Taiwan — China laid bare the raw coercive logic of compellence now driving its foreign policy toward Asian states. From the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas to the Himalayan frontier, Beijing has increasingly relied on economic warfare, diplomatic intimidation and military pressure to bend neighbors to its will. Confident in its growing power, China appeared to believe
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
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
Legislators of the opposition parties, consisting of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), on Friday moved to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德). They accused Lai of undermining the nation’s constitutional order and democracy. For anyone who has been paying attention to the actions of the KMT and the TPP in the legislature since they gained a combined majority in February last year, pushing through constitutionally dubious legislation, defunding the Control Yuan and ensuring that the Constitutional Court is unable to operate properly, such an accusation borders the absurd. That they are basing this
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