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`Taiwan buffalo' finally learning how to dance

Premier Yu Shyi-kun has come under criticism recently for being too outspoken and combatative. FILE PHOTO: THE TAIPEI TIMES

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.

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 (郝柏村) was the premier, the soldier-turned-politician stormed out of the legislature with his ministers in tow because he was prevented from answering questions by opposition legislators. The legislators staged a boycott over the government's failure to retire lawmakers who had been elected when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China.

"Idiot, the problem lies in your ass."

Yu Shyi-kun, premier, responding to criticism from KMT Chairman Lien Chan

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), at the time a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker, criticized Hau's action and berated him for "holding the lawmaking body in contempt."

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 (連戰), who branded Yu's talk "outrageous."

"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 (王健壯) -- whose publication is embroiled in a criminal libel dispute with the government -- said that he has seen a dramatic change in Yu over the years, especially since he was appointed premier.

"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 (金恆煒), a political commentator and editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine, said that Yu's recent moves have been aimed at turning his personal image around.

"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.
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