Exiled Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan (王丹) on Monday slammed former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), saying his post-presidency “pleasure trips” showed a “lack of vision” for a former head of state.
In an interview on Sunday, Ma said since the Presidential Office in July turned down his application to travel to Hong Kong to give a speech, he was “forced to take pleasure trips domestically” to “compensate for the loss of Chinese tourists by boosting domestic consumption.”
Wang posted on Facebook that former US presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter continued to be active in important causes after leaving office, establishing charitable foundations to engage in efforts to combat AIDS or advance human rights worldwide.
Compared with Carter and Clinton, Ma’s travels and spending raise the question of whether Ma “possesses the vision befitting a former president,” Wang said.
“Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) is nearly 100 years old, but he still fully occupies himself with national affairs and recently made proposals to amend the Constitution,” Wang added.
“There is no comparison between the vision showed by the two former presidents,” Wang said, referring to Lee and Ma.
The “salaries and dignity lavished on former presidents” are given by the nation “in expectation that [they] will make contributions to social progress,” while boosting domestic spending is something that “any average citizen” could do, Wang said.
In related news, Ma on Monday gave his first lecture at Soochow University after accepting an honorary teaching position at the Taipei university, which will see him deliver a monthly lecture that is open to all of the school’s students.
In his lecture on Taiwan’s status under international law, Ma spoke about Taiwan’s history. He had also prepared 22 questions to stimulate discussion among the students during the three-hour session.
The university said a 330-seat auditorium was packed for Ma’s lecture, which it also live-streamed.
Soochow University president Pan Wei-ta (潘維大) said the school was fortunate to have Ma as a lecturer.
The university invites people to give lectures irrespective of their political affiliation, Pan said.
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