A source close to Liu, however, dismissed those accounts. Liu’s intention to resign had been kept confidential, the source said, and Ma had been under pressure from both KMT headquarters and the party’s legislative caucus to replace Liu.
“Over the 15 months, and especially when his Cabinet was under fire following the flooding, Liu, as an individual unaffiliated with any faction of the KMT, felt that it was difficult to implement policies,” the source said. “Liu therefore suggested that Ma choose someone who had the party behind him.”
Director of Liu’s office, Ting Nai-chi (丁乃琪), on the other hand, denied any drama involving Liu’s resignation.
Saying that she was the only official at the Executive Yuan aware of Liu’s intention to resign, Ting said Liu “had been adamant about his resignation from the very beginning.”
Aside from Ting, Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) was the only Cabinet official informed of Liu’s decision to resign prior to Liu’s public announcement on Monday.
Ting, Chiu, and Chiu’s chief secretary Chen Chao-kai (陳肇凱) all declined to comment on when Ma accepted Liu’s resignation, giving the same vague answer that “it was one day last week.”
Sources said there was a significant ratcheting up of pressure on Ma to replace Liu by the party following Liu’s “small reshuffle” remarks last Tuesday, which failed to meet the public’s expectations.
Ting denied the speculation, saying that the message that Liu would stay in office and the reshuffle would be small-scale were done to maintain the morale of officials executing imperative reconstruction work while worrying about a possible Cabinet reshuffle.
National Taiwan University political science professor Chang Lin-cheng (張麟徵) said that “people who know Liu well understand that he would choose to leave even if Ma asked him to stay.”
“Given plummeting approval ratings for Liu, Ma and the government, Liu knew that staying on would harm not only himself, but also Ma,” Chang said.
Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒), a political commentator, said there was no alternative for Ma but to replace Liu, because only by doing so would it be possible to boost Ma’s declining approval rating.
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