We are in the Year of the Rooster, with the wealth of opportunities and challenges that it brings; opportunities are born of ambition and challenges are rooted in a fearless volition. As a result, whether Taiwan is able to seize the opportunities presented to it and deal with all the challenges will be decided by the nation’s belief and mindset.
The government is not a private enterprise with business objectives, profit and loss evaluations and vulnerability to the vicissitudes of the marketplace. Elected leaders are relatively sheltered during their term; whether a politician is ousted depends on which colleagues have their back. Public servants can feel secure in their jobs. Even the robust oversight mechanisms in place within a democracy are mostly designed to keep policy in check.
It is not so easy to wield the axe when it comes to personnel changes and this has implications for the nation. Given this, the media has a responsibility, an institutional right, to maintain pressure and ensure that these officials perform to their utmost ability.
We know what the government has on its plate this year. This month will see several trajectories emerge. We have already seen the expected partial Cabinet reshuffle. Within the next few weeks we can expect judicial reform committee meetings and the convening of a national affairs conference on judicial reform by the latter half of June.
Next month, the executive and examination branches are expected to submit their respective pension reform draft proposals to the legislature to start the review process and these are expected to pass a third reading at about the same time that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) celebrates one year in office. The government will want this done before the next session in September, when the budget review is planned to take place.
The work of the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee has already been set out and is to begin this month, including official hearings into the affairs of the China Youth Corps and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affiliated broadcasting companies, followed by assessments of the National Women’s League and the KMT-affiliated Institute on Policy Research and Development. In addition, the committee’s agenda also includes tracking money obtained by third parties cashing KMT-transferred checks.
The government is expected to spend the first half of the year dealing with pension reform and judicial reform, as well as political reform.
However, there are several upcoming elections with real implications for the distribution of power. This month, the farmers and fisheries election is sure to be a harbinger of what is to come in next year’s elections.
Secondly, the KMT chairperson election, which the party has brought forward to May 20, has already caused all manner of chaos within the KMT.
The two main parties are expected to release their nominee lists for the special municipality mayoral, city and county councilor elections by August and October respectively.
Political skirmishes are likely to continue for the year.
Economic transformation and stimulus remain priorities, but in addition to ensuring that fiscal policy is on the right course, the government will also have to keep a close eye on developments abroad now that US President Donald Trump has taken up residence in the White House.
Trump has already signed executive orders to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to build a wall between the US and Mexico and to place a temporary travel ban on people from seven nations, making good on promises he made on the campaign trail that will also have political and economic implications in other regions.
This is before China’s 19th Party Congress is convened in November, in which it is expected that Beijing will increase restrictions on Chinese, with all the repercussions that this would entail.
Faced with all these challenges, it is apparent that president needs a strong team and a strategic long-term vision, a wealth of resourcefulness and crisis management skills.
We have seen the pitfalls of relying on teams of academics or party staffers to govern the nation, so the hope is that the Cabinet reshuffle will instill faith in the government so it can face up to the challenges ahead.
A leader needs to know how best to allocate Cabinet briefs; they also need to know how to use the tactical teams at their disposal — in this case the National Security Council and the National Development Council — for optimum effect.
Together, these three, if they have the right personnel invested with the power to use their talents, will see the nation through.
However, if the president is constantly preoccupied with putting out fires and dealing with crises, the government is clearly not working as it should. If the leader is unable to remedy the situation, they have to ask themselves whether they are the problem. It is safe to say that Tsai is well aware of this.
In the same way, the premier must know what needs to be done to right his ship.
This year is likely to bring about all manner of challenges: from within — such as pension reform and judicial reform, together with “it is the economy, stupid” considerations — and from without — with the storm currently brewed by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
To weather the coming storm, Taiwan must be well-prepared.
Translated by Paul Cooper
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.