Once again, Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh
This is not the first time that Lee has been touted as at least the Mr Fix-it, if not the savior, of Taiwan's politics. In 1997, the talk of the town was that President Lee Teng-hui
All of this is by no means wholly groundless. Lee is, after all, the only Taiwanese to have won the Nobel Prize, which he received in 1986 for his role in the development of chemical-reaction dynamics. This honor guarantees him continuous respect, even adulation, in this education-obsessed society. Moreover, he has frequently demonstrated an ability to relate to the person in the street -- a rarity among Taiwanese academics -- which magnifies his charisma. After the trauma of the 921 earthquake, he was the natural choice to head the NGO coalition supervising the reconstruction effort.
The "Lee mania" phenomenon is a source of concern, however. It shows a certain immaturity among Taiwan's voters, a hankering for a "philosopher-king." Unfortunately, history shows that many of the most dangerous dictators -- Lenin, Hitler, Mao -- rose to power on the same sentiment. It is disturbing that this young democracy has descended to such a level of cynicism so early. There is indeed a sickness at the core, when none of the parties and none of the current leaders seems to offer an alternative.
Although it is admittedly impossible to imagine that Lee could become a tyrant, it would still be best for him not to accept any of the offers on his plate. This is because one of two possible results is nearly inevitable: either he will give up in disgust after trying to wrangle with all of the various factions and interest groups the premier must face, or he will wade further into the mud that is Taiwan politics, inexorably ruining his own good standing.
Moreover, it's far from clear what Lee could actually achieve as premier, given the weakness of the office. Under Taiwan's version of semi-presidentialism, the premier's seat is a uniquely unstable one, neither directly elected nor -- in contrast to the French Constitution on which Taiwan's is loosely based -- filled by the head of the largest party caucus in parliament. With no independent political base, the premier presents the awkward spectacle of a glorified chief of staff for the president, and someone who can be sacked by a legislative vote of no confidence.
It would be better all round, therefore, if the illusion were to be shattered, preferably by Lee himself through a strong rejection of any and all overtures. Voters need to stop dreaming of a miracle and take a cold, hard look at the choices they are presented with today. The candidates, meanwhile, should stop fostering false hope and get on with the business of elaborating real policies and planning ways to implement them.
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