Premier-designate Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) wasted no time in connecting with potential Cabinet members and finalizing his choices after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) announced his appointment on Monday.
Doubling as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) secretary-general and vice chairman over the last few years, Wu has worked closely with Ma since his first stint as KMT chairman, and has earned Ma’s trust with his competence and political acumen.
In announcing the surprise appointment, Ma lauded Wu for his extensive experience in party and administrative affairs, and said he also chose Wu because of their “familiarity.”
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The tightly guarded process of Wu’s appointment typifies his style, which is embodied by one of his pet phrases: “I know many things, but I cannot reveal any of them.”
Wu, 61, started his career as a reporter at the Chinese-language newspaper the China Times, working briefly as a journalist and editorial writer after graduating from the Department of History at National Taiwan University (NTU).
At the age of 25 he was nominated by the KMT to run for a seat on the Taipei City Council on the basis of an article he had written as a college student. The piece, titled The Cross of NTU Students, impressed then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
In the absence of election experience, money or renown, Wu relied solely on his “two legs and mouth” for his campaign. He and his wife made door-to-door calls to canvass votes.
His grassroots campaign strategy worked and he won his first-ever electoral bid, becoming the youngest member of the city council, and he has remained in politics ever since.
Wu was part of the KMT’s campaign in the 1970s to groom native Taiwanese talent to expand its power base, and was entrusted with important positions such as Nantou County commissioner and Kaohsiung mayor. He expanded his support base in southern Taiwan over the years, and won the first direct election for Kaohsiung mayor in 1994, beating the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄).
Although he lost the second Kaohsiung mayoral election to Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) in 1998, Wu returned to politics soon after by securing a legislative seat representing his native Nantou County in 2002.
He was appointed KMT secretary-general by Ma in 2007 to help push through his policies. While enjoying popularity in his home base, Wu is often described as a “lonely bird” in the KMT, a politician who has made no connections with any party factions and cares little about building relationships with fellow legislators.
“His lack of personal skills and confrontational personality will be obstacles for him, as he will need to work closely with the legislature and party members,” said Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒), a political commentator from National Tung Hua University.
Shih said Wu shared traits with outgoing premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), who also had a problematic relationship with the KMT-dominated legislature and often comes across as aloof, and said Wu would probably be a “transitional premier” chosen by Ma to help cultivate vice premier-designate Eric Chu (朱立倫) as his successor.
Shih said Wu would be able to implement Ma’s policies more efficiently, but added that Wu’s new Cabinet may only be of limited help in raising Ma’s support rate if the president failed to have his own vision and present better policies for the nation.
KMT Legislator Chu Feng-chi (朱鳳芝) also challenged Ma’s choice of Wu, and called on the premier-designate to “be more open-minded.”
“I expect our new premier to use his power carefully, be more open-minded and look ahead with the people in mind,” she said.
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), on the other hand, approved of Wu’s capability and integrity, and said he expected his support base in southern Taiwan to be an advantage in the government’s reconstruction efforts in the areas hard-hit by Typhoon Morakot.
Taking over the position as premier, Wu pledged to make flood control and soil conservation in mountainous areas his Cabinet’s top priority, and promised to step up the pace of the rehabilitation of typhoon victims. His rich experience in local politics and administration could help smooth the post-disaster reconstruction in typhoon-affected regions.
Wu made a quiet visit to Hong Kong last weekend after accepting Ma’s job offer to get first-hand information about how the former British colony has dealt with landslide problems.
Despite this, Wu’s appointment has already drawn a mixed reaction, but he is unlikely to be fazed by critics.
After all, he has said, “some people see a thorn bush that has roses, while others see a rose bush that has thorns.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS