Mon, Nov 18, 2002 page8

• Editorial: Knocking Ma off his horse

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  Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is shocked, shocked that a road sign in Los Angeles should refer to Taiwan as a part of China and has vowed "drastic action" if the Los Angeles City Government fails to act on his protest. We have not been told to what Ma wishes the sign to be changed but we can only assume from the Great Jogger's behavior that he wants to swap "Taipei Municipality, Taiwan, China" to "Taipei Municipality, Taiwan SAR, China." That would certainly be in line with his vision for the future of this country (better not use the word "country" around Ma, of course).

  That was, of course, Ma's attempt on the eve of the second debate to show that he really cared about Taiwan after all. It's interesting that he felt he had to do this. After all, his disproportionately mainlander Taipei constituency doesn't care about Taiwan -- except as a foxhole -- and never has. Could Ma's new-found concern for Taiwan's dignity -- which he has done as much as anyone to trash in the last two years since the KMT fell in love with the goal of Greater China regional hegemony under PRC leadership -- reveal something of his wider ambitions? Being Beijing's stooge might be safe in Taipei but plays very poorly indeed in southern Taiwan, which Ma will need if he wants to oust President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) from another job.

  And so we come to the debate yesterday which was very much of an anticlimax. After the murder of Taipei City Councilor Chen Chin-chi (陳進棋) on Saturday, this would have been an excellent opportunity to draw attention to the collapse of law and order in Taipei under Ma. The mayor's misuse of the by now famous Asiaweek Best Cities standings is addressed elsewhere on this page today. What is not mentioned, however, is the rise in crime by over 50 percent between 1999 and 2000, that those standings -- available for anyone to check on the Internet -- clearly show.

  One of the best parts of DPP candidate Lee Ying-yuan's (李應元) frankly lackluster campaign so far has been the TV ad with the gangster saying how splendid his businesses were doing with a sympathetic mayor in charge of the city. What made the ad so effective, of course, was that it rang so true. Who could have seen it and not nodded their heads thinking "Right, that's the way Taipei is?" Add to this the corruption in the police force -- which the pro-Ma media has done its best to forget about -- and the mayor's splendidly impotent vow to close down the sex industry, and it all makes for interesting times for Taipei.

  In all fairness though, what the Chen murder really makes one think about is not a lack of safety on the capital's streets, but the murky world of the City Council and many of those who sit on it -- with their close relationship to organized crime.

  Beyond this the debate was rather dull, going on at length about trash bags and commute time to CKS airport. Probably the most interesting question was on renaming Taipei's streets, with their nauseating litany of China-derived names, redolent as they are of KMT colonialism. This was something that should have tripped up Ma, but Lee gave him an easy ride -- as he generally did, in fact, all through the debates.

  Another issue which could have been fruitfully pursued was why Ma supports the fetishism of mainland culture by his Bureau of Cultural Affairs, or what his problem might be with flying the flag. But the lasting impression of the debates has to be puzzlement about why it is that the DPP can swing away but never seems to be able to land a punch, even on an opponent as vulnerable as Ma. When will they learn?
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