The recent performance of Premier Yu Shyi-kun has whipped up a deluge of controversy, although it may also have had the effect of beefing up Yu's political stature and making him one of the more formidable competitors vying for the DPP's presidential nomination in 2008.
Dubbed a "Taiwanese buffalo" to signify his hard-working, honest and simple virtue, Yu seems to have transformed himself from an inarticulate speaker and a temperate person to an outspoken politician and crude personality since he took up his second term in the premiership in February.
FILE PHOTO: THE TAIPEI TIMES
Shortly after his swearing-in, Yu led his ministers in walking out of a plenary legislative session after two opposition legislators called him a "rascal politician."
Yu's abrupt and dramatic move forced the session to a halt.
He is only the second premier to have led Cabinet officials in a walk- out from a legislative session. Thirteen years ago, when Hau Pei-tsun (
President Chen Shui-bian (
Instead of focusing more on domestic issues, which comprise the bulk of his duties, Yu has stepped into the realm of diplomatic and cross-strait affairs, which are constitutionally under the president's jurisdiction.
During a three-country, 14-day diplomatic tour in late August, Yu raised political eyebrows when he referred to the country as "Taiwan, ROC" without first consulting the Presidential Office in advance.
His over-eager remark failed to win the support of Chen, who later said that the best abbreviated title for the country is Taiwan because the name "Taiwan, ROC" causes misunderstandings.
During the trip, the soft-spoken Yu also lambasted China for being provocative and said that the communist giant is secretly mapping underwater terrain in the Pacific in preparation for an eventual naval conflict with the US.
Yu also called China "the source of chaos" in the world due to its aggressive arms buildup and its suppression of human rights both in China and in Hong Kong.
On his return home, Yu made history when his plane was diverted to Okinawa to avoid Typhoon Aere, becoming the first premier to enter Japan since it cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1972.
While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed joy over Yu's receiving "a high-profile reception" from the Japanese government, Beijing protested Yu's stopover and expressed its "grave concern" over the matter.
Last month, Yu again caused an uproar when he said that Taiwan should rely on a Cold War-style "balance of terror" to safeguard national security in the face of intimidation from Beijing. Yu made the remark in response to a rally against the Cabinet's proposed NT$610.8 billion (US$18 billion) arms-procurement package.
The remark prompted the US to issue a mild rebuke, although the Pentagon reiterated its commitment to provide the necessary equipment for Taiwan's defense. The remark also triggered a war of words between Yu and KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"Idiot, the problem doesn't lie in the weapons systems," Lien said.
Yu said Lien preferred to "let his rear end dictate his thinking."
"Idiot, the problem lies in your ass," Yu said, adding that the arms procurement plan was approved by Lien in 1995 when he was premier, but the KMT chief had forgotten all about it after losing the presidential election.
Born into a poor peasant family in Ilan County, the 56-year-old Yu was a rice farmer for eight years before he entered politics. He was elected to the Taiwan Provincial Assembly in 1981 and re-elected in 1985. He was elected as the Ilan County commissioner in 1989 and won a second term in 1993.
He was recruited by Chen to serve as the chairman of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp in 1998, when Chen was mayor of Taipei. Yu then moved on to serve as the secretary-general of the DPP headquarters and vice premier.
His career as vice premier, how-ever, was cut short in 2000 when he took responsibility for the Pachang Creek incident, in which four construction workers drowned in a flood when rescuers failed to arrive in time.
Yu's departure made him the shortest-serving vice premier in the nation's history, his term having lasted just five months. Although Yu claimed that his choice to resign was his and his alone, some analysts believe the decision came directly from Chen in a bid to quell discontent by showing that high-ranking government officials should bear the responsibility for mistakes made on their watch.
Yu later became the secretary-general of the Presidential Office before moving on to his current position in 2002.
The president of The Journalist magazine, Wang Chien-chuang (
"I remember during the tang-wai [outside the party] period, he would usually sit by himself and listen to other people talk," Wang said. "He was a hard-working individual and an honest and modest politician back then, and still was until he was appointed premier."
Wang said that he was "baffled" as to what caused the "change," but one of the possibilities might be that Yu is beginning to show "his true self."
"People used to call him a `Taiwan buffalo' because he was kind of clumsy and slow of tongue, but now he's more like a fighting cricket, and seems to have grown a forked tongue," he said. "He's changed quite a lot, and it worries me as to what caused the change."
Chin Heng-wei (
"No matter whether it's specifically targeted at the next presidential election, he's making desperate efforts to make the public perceive him as a tougher person and hardliner," Chin said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard