Last Thursday morning, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) suspended his three-month leave of absence from being mayor so that he could spend half a day in that role with American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman James Moriarty. Afterward, Han said that a lack of time before the presidential election, as well as trips to finish campaigning on Taiwan proper and then on the islands of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, would keep him from visiting the US before Jan. 11.
Han’s U-turn on the issue of a US visit has exposed three problems with his campaign: He often speaks without thinking, he is short on preparation and he lacks a team.
Han in mid-July said that he intended to visit the US if he received a formal invitation. In August, AIT Director Brent Christensen said during a media interview that Han was welcome to visit Washington before the elections. At the time, Han replied that, thanks to the arrangements of some enthusiastic friends, he was hoping to visit the US last month or this month.
This raises the question of whether Han understands the significance and symbolic meaning of a US visit. How could he change his mind and cancel a US visit after he had asked the Americans to invite him?
Speaking without thinking the way Han does, how can he represent Taiwan in the diplomatic world where mutual trust is essential?
While Han said he has yet to finish his first nationwide campaign trip, he has so far campaigned in only eight of Kaohsiung’s 38 administrative districts, according to several Kaohsiung City councilors in the Democratic Progressive Party.
Early last month, Han said that he would campaign throughout the city’s districts to meet face to face with voters and gain an understanding of what the grassroots need.
However, Han only visited the eight districts and then announced that he would take the leave of absence so that he could campaign across the nation and listen to people’s thoughts on national affairs.
Han started a new campaign trip before finishing off an ongoing campaign trip, and canceled his US visit, which resulted from an opportunist decision to run for president before he had even warmed the chair at his desk in the Kaohsiung mayor’s office.
As Han continues to jump from one thing to another, how could he say that he is prepared?
Although not visiting the US in person, Han has said that he would send his wife, Lee Chia-fen (李佳芬), on his behalf. Where is his team?
Han is a presidential candidate. He was invited to the US so that Washington might better understand his stance on foreign affairs and his planned actions, thus laying a foundation for possible future cooperation.
In other words, if Han wants to send someone to represent him in the US, he should send a team of experts with knowledge and experience in international affairs.
He should only send his wife if there is a lack of sufficiently talented people on his team and if no one else is capable of taking on such a big responsibility.
The rest of the world would respect Han’s announcement that he could not visit the US because of his campaign commitments. However, Taiwan-US relations are integral to national security, diplomacy, and economic and technology strategies.
If Han is incapable of managing relations with the US, perhaps it will be even more difficult for him to win voters’ trust.
Huang Wei-ping is a former think tank researcher.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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