Under the deadline imposed by Premier-designate Tang Fei's (唐飛) scheduled surgery, the cabinet list has been nearly finalized this week, and we can, for the first time, begin to see what the new government will look like.
First of all, the process this time has been somewhat more transparent than in the past, when the KMT Central Standing Committee made the appointments unilaterally. This trend, which conforms with our expectations of ever-increasing democratization is to be applauded.
However, we must also observe that the media has once again demonstrated its immaturity, repeatedly engaging in hopelessly unfounded speculation. Not only did various political actors leak information to promote their own objectives, but some reporters, pressured to name names, even inserted their own guesses into their reports. Each name that appeared instantly triggered a rush of reporters to accost the victim (or perpetrator). Viewers have been treated all week to a parade of politicians and scholars using every imaginable tactic to respond to the insistent demands for confirmation.
Now that the dust is settling, we can begin to evaluate the actual results of the process. Three groups were involved: President-elect Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Tang, and the policy advisory committee led by Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲). The list confirmed so far reveals that, in fact, Chen played the leading role.
Tang, in particular, seems somewhat out of the loop. Except in defense matters, where he has apparently been given an essentially free hand, only a very small number of cabinet posts have been filled with people who can be identified as being put forward by Tang. The one significant exception is secretary-general Wea Chi-lin (魏啟林), and by extension GIO head Chung Chin (鍾琴). Part of the reason, unfortunately, seems to be a lack of political understanding on Tang's part. Some his suggestions, such as Wu Rong-ming (吳容明) for interior minister, would clearly have been poor choices.
As for the much-ballyhooed advisory committee, it has disbanded after a couple of weeks, declaring its mission accomplished. Actually this is right. The committee's primary mission was simply to help Chen get elected, in which it succeeded admirably, and to get the process of forming a new government rolling. The committee's greatest contribution was to facilitate the selection of Tang as premier, which was an inspired move to enhance stability and confidence during the transition period.
The disbanding of the committee indicates the recognition by most of the members that their job was complete though some committee members felt that they should be given a decisive role in the selection of the rest of the cabinet.
Lee Yuan-tseh himself, although he is likely satisfied with most of the appointments, was rankled by the selection of Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) and Mark Chen (陳唐山). The former had urged him not to come out publicly for Chen during the campaign, whereas the choice of the latter as chairman of the National Science Council offended his sensibilities as a scientist that politicians should stay clear of scientific endeavors.
In short, both the committee and Tang have provided Chen with a much-needed boost of confidence, and they have also served as useful foils against those in Chen's own party who could have caused Chen difficulty by refusing to accept his allocations. They have also helped Chen recruit some qualified people who may have been hesitant to join the government. Nevertheless, the cabinet clearly bears Chen's stamp.
Inevitably, some of Chen's followers will be disappointed at the outcome, but this is perhaps due to unreasonably high expectations. Based on a colder political analysis, however, Chen has selected a team that promises to be quite strong. Time, however, will tell.
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