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Ma, Yeh neglect Taipei to go campaigning, DPP says

"After Ma was elected as KMT chairman, municipal functioning has been a mess. He used to be famous for apologizing whenever mistakes happened, but now he is too busy to even apologize."

Chen Cheng-teh, DPP caucus whip on the Taipei City Council

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus in the Taipei City Council yesterday accused the Taipei mayor and deputy mayor, as well as their staff, of neglecting the running of the city government in favor of their respective election campaigns.

Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman, is setting out on a 11-day trip to the US tomorrow to promote the KMT's cross-strait policies.

A day after Ma's notice for absence was sent to the city council, Taipei Deputy Mayor Yeh Chin-chuan (葉金川) announced his resignation to dedicate himself fully to campaigning for the mayoral election.

"After Ma was elected as KMT chairman, municipal functioning has been a mess. He used to be famous for apologizing whenever mistakes happened, but now he is too busy to even apologize," DPP Councilor Chen Cheng-teh (陳正德), the DPP caucus whip, said yesterday during a press conference at the city council.

Yeh had been expected to act in Ma's place during the mayor's US trip, but "now that Yeh has also left his job to go campaigning, the slack municipal functioning will only get worse under the `Ma Team,'" Chen said.

According to DPP Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), there have been 42 personnel changes among top officials in the city government since Ma took over seven years ago.

"The frequent reshuffling of city council personnel has made it almost impossible for the city government to execute many municipal policies, and lately I have found that many of the policies stay on officials' lips without making their way into written reports," she said.

DPP Councilor Chou Po-ya (周柏雅), who is considering entering the Taipei mayoral race, supported Hsu's criticism.

"The mayor is thinking about the 2008 presidential election, and the deputy mayor is dedicating himself to the mayoral election. We don't know who else in the Ma team is left to take care of municipal development," he said.

Yeh said he would take over Ma's responsibilities while the mayor was abroad, and would only leave the post after Ma returns home.

Ma, meanwhile, again attempted to persuade Yeh to stay.

"I have read his letter of resignation ... I will keep talking to him," Ma said yesterday morning.
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