Yesterday marked the end of the new government's third month in power. Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) administration has received both applause and rebuke for its performance, but it seems from the media reports that he has received more criticism than applause. Obviously, the media and the public are not completely satisfied with the new government. Many of A-bian's supporters can't help feeling disappointed now as things have fallen short of their expectations.
Public and media criticism of politicians and governments are a normality in a democratic society. However, Taiwan's democracy is still in its "toddler" stage. Her people are just emerging from the daunting experience of her first ever peaceful transition of power. Obviously, the public and the media have placed inordinately high expectations on the new government. Media hostile to A-bian have also politicized each and every move of the new government, taking it to task at every turn. It is doubtful whether such biased media reports can reflect the real situation.
However, we cannot so nonchalantly brush off a 25,000-character paper released yesterday by the liberal-minded Taipei Association (
Coincidentally, the opposition KMT also released the results of an opinion poll yesterday, showing that only three officials from the new government has public approval ratings of more than 50 percent [Chen, Premier Tang Fei (唐飛) and Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南)]. Cabinet members in charge of defense, economic, finance and agricultural affairs came out at the bottom of the list. Apparently, some of the new government's top officials are highly popular, but they are leading an old bureaucracy left behind by the KMT. As a result, the whole executive system is marching out of step with itself. Perhaps some of the officials may think that the Taipei Association has been too harsh on them and that some more time should have been given for a fairer evaluation. However, a crisis like this may very well turn out to be a turning point, an opportunity for improvement. Chen's government should feel lucky to have an elite of so many top-notch intellectuals helping him govern. Chen, who is now in the midst of his six-country tour, has said he would meet with members of the association after he comes back and listen to their views. We hope Chen will sincerely face up to these people, known as the "conscience of Taiwan," and prove his determination to society by real action. Over the past three months, Chen has made too many concessions and compromises to allay all the political wrestling and satisfy all interest groups, so much so that he has been taking flak for lacking "principle" and "losing his own stance."
We hope to see a decisive Chen Shui-bian making a fresh start after learning lessons from the first three months in office. We hope Chen will not give in to pressure from small groups of people when it comes to executing the right policies good for the majority of the people. Only then can he wield a real A-bian style of government and tackle the missions he has set out to accomplish.
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