It takes time and resources to cultivate talent. The KMT was in power for more than 50 years. It therefore has a large pool of talent at its disposal after a long process of cultivation. As for the DPP, the party took power before the development of its elite was complete. To gain power in a country is one thing; to rule a country is quite another. Although the DPP has found itself obliged to borrow talent from other parties, it is crucial that the party come up with its own scheme to develop talent -- one that is able to ensure long-term peace and national stability.
I believe that the following characterize the DPP's current policy to develop talent:
First, it has recruited talent from everywhere except within. The DPP has only gradually cultivated its own government team while recruiting talent from all sides. After coming to power, the government suffered badly as a result of a series of internal and external matters, such as the disputes over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and working hours, the battles between the ruling and opposition camps, the record high unemployment rate, the international economic downturn and the relocation of Taiwanese businesses to China. As a result, the government has had no choice but to recruit talent from all sides while at the same time seeking to cultivate its own staff.
Second, it has grown in both its idealism and its realism. The DPP is certainly a party with aspirations. But many of its Cabinet members are inexperienced. The party's ideology, meanwhile, is not recognized by either the opposition parties or the Chinese government, for all President Chen Shui-bian's (
Third, the party is moving forward while learning how to control the government machine and realizing certain administrative goals. It has taken time for the government and the old bureaucracy to begin to operate in full harmony to achieve the DPP's goals. The poor performance of the Cabinet should surprise no one, since the government's leaders have had no time to train their colleagues.
The government can be expected to continue to borrow talent from all sides as it continues to develop its own staff. Indeed, it has no choice but to rely heavily on financial and economic talent from other parties as it strives for economic prosperity. But the most important task facing the DPP is to establish a scheme to develop talented figures in order to prepare itself for long-term governance. From the president down to each and every Cabinet mem-ber, the party should actively cultivate as many potential successors as possible, not just one or two. Any evaluation of the performance of a head of government should take account of the number of people he is actively cultivating for leadership positions.
Chen Ming-chang is a professor of business administration at National Taipei University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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