The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday gave Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Yesterday marked the seventh anniversary of Ma's inauguration. Ma, who will leave the office a year from yesterday, held a high-profile press conference to tout his achievements so far.
Ma said that the city is the first local government to establish an Aboriginal affairs commission, which was pioneered by President Chen Shui-bian (
bad-news bearer
But DPP Legislator Wang Shih-chien (
"Ma's performance over the past seven years has been lackluster," Wang said. "I give him 49 out of 100 points, which doesn't even qualify for a make-up exam."
Wang said that he worked with Ma for six years during his stint as a city councilor and his comment for Ma is that "although he is good-looking, he is in fact useless" and his observation for Ma's team is "all that glitters is not gold." While a survey conducted by the city's Research, Development and Evaluation Committee claimed that Ma's job approval is running at a high 78.9 percent, Wang said that Ma has three secret weapons to get himself off the hook when he is in trouble.
"One is to pretend that he is cute, another is to pretend that he is pitiful and the other is to wittily offer apologies," Wang said.
Over the past seven years, Wang said that not only has Ma offered many apologies, but the city government has also awarded many compensation packages to citizens for the blunders it has made, and many city officials have been involved in scandals.
waste of money
DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (
"I am calling on city councilors to launch an investigation into the matter," he said. "I myself am very curious to know whether the event was a news conference or a music concert."
Hsu also denounced Ma for worsening the city's quality of life during his term. Taking the city's living environment for example, Hsu said that Asiaweek's ranking of the city's urban livability among 40 of Asia's key cities has dropped from No. 2 during Chen's term as the mayor to No. 3 and even No. 4 now that Ma is the mayor.
Hsu added that the city's outstanding debt has increased by NT$135 billion (US$4 billion) over the past seven years to reach NT$241.4 billion, the moving speed of motor vehicles during non-rush hours averages 29.3kph and the national flag is banned in international competitions.
In addition to outlining the city's alleged scandals, Hsu called on Ma, who doubles as the chairman of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to stop selling party assets at reduced prices.
The KMT is in the process of selling five of its party-owned media outlets, China Television Co (CTV), Broadcasting Corp of China (BCC), Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC), Central Daily News and China Daily News. The party hopes to rake in NT$8 billion (US$240 million) to NT$9 billion through the package sale.
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