The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday called on the pan-blue camp to halt its defeatist rhetoric and be more supportive of the new Cabinet.
"As the Year of the Dog is approaching, I'm calling on the pan-blue camp to stop unleashing vicious dogs to bite innocent people," DPP caucus whip Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said.
"Instead of continuing to relentlessly attack the government, I'd like to see the pan-blue alliance show some respect and support, for the sake of the future development of the country," Chen said.
Chen made the remark in response to criticism from the pan-blue alliance, comprised of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP), earlier yesterday morning.
The pan-blues described the new Cabinet as "jerry-rigged," made up of spare parts, with Cabinet positions handed out like spoils of war. They said the number of female officials in the reshuffled government has decreased, saying that Cabinet positions are being offered to controversial or pro-independence figures.
In response, Chen said that the pan-blue camp's criticism is nothing new.
"The pan-blue alliance has been gearing up efforts to thwart government initiatives since the DPP came to power in 2000," Chen said. "Their ultimate goal is to make the administration's achievements lackluster before the next presidential election."
As the "reconciliation and co-existence" approach trumpeted by outgoing Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) failed to win the support of the pan-blue alliance, Chen said that the opposition camp has wasted no time to pour cold water on premier-designate Su Tseng-chang's (蘇貞昌) "middle way and pragmatic" strategy.
"We're very curious to know exactly what they want from the new Cabinet," Chen said.
Chen also upbraided the pan-blue camp's hostile attitude as the "source of chaos" and said that he was disappointed to see the opposition's defeatist mindset.
While the KMT caucus yesterday painted the new Cabinet line-up as "attackers taking up combat positions," Chen said that KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is actually the one who is nourishing a gang of assailants with a mission of attacking the administration.
Another DPP caucus whip, Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), asked the pan-blue alliance to give the new Cabinet a chance rather than continuing its aggressive approach of opposing the administration for the mere sake of opposition.
While the KMT claimed there would be fewer female officials in the new Cabinet, Yeh said that the number remains the same -- nine -- but agreed that there is room for more women.
The PFP caucus also cast doubt on the new Cabinet line-up, describing it as "old wine in a new bottle."
PFP Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) said that his caucus does not have any expectations for the new Cabinet, because its composition depends purely on political considerations.
Referring to finance minister-designate Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) as an example, Chang said that Lyu is not a finance expert, nor does he have any outstanding achievement in the field.
The reason that Lyu got the job is because he is "politically correct," Chang said.
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