Empty promises
Not a single person will believe what President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in his New Year speech, that “Reviving the nation’s economy is the government’s top priority this year,” (Editorial, Jan. 3, page 8).
This is an empty promise; Ma is a liar and incompetent.
Remember his “6-3-3” campaign pledge, his promise about donating half of his salary and the “golden decade”?
Ma has no credibility.
Politics is Ma’s top priority this year, not the economy.
His priorities are as follows: First, arrange a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in China.
Next month, Ma is to send Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) to China to negotiate the details of a meeting with representatives of the Chinese government.
An announcement of the outcome of the so-called “Xi-Ma meeting” is expected sometime in the summer.
Second, manipulate Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates for the coming seven-in-one municipal elections.
To stop former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien’s (連勝文) ascent, Ma is working to promote New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) to defeat Lien in the Taipei mayoral race.
He is plotting to find a candidate to replace the current Greater Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) and trying to persuade Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) to take over in New Taipei City.
Third, Ma is trying to clear the way for Vice President Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) to form the ticket for the KMT in the 2016 presidential election.
Ma is trying to avoid being indicted after his term as president.
During the New Year’s Day ceremony in front of the Presidential Palace in Taipei, after Ma finished his speech and stepped down from the podium, the master of ceremony announced that: “President Ma is stepping down,” causing a moment of silence in the crowd.
The public’s New Year wish is that Ma would actually step down.
If he did, Taiwan would become a better place.
Ken S. Huang
Murrieta, California
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