Fri, Jan 30, 2004 page8

• Editorial: Ma's hoof-in-mouth problem

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  Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has stirred up a storm with his comment that holding the national referendum on March 20th is a "criminal action." That characterization by itself is, of course, grammatically questionable, since the word "criminal" as used refers to a person rather than an act. The only way it makes sense is if it is deemed as referring to the actor or the person carrying out the act in question. In this case, since the said national referendum is a major policy of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the only logical explanation is that Ma was referring to his own superior and the president of the country.

  More surprising was that Ma made such a disrespectful and crude comment during a routine weekly Cabinet meeting -- which he attends in his capacity as Taipei mayor -- and where a group of reporters summoned by Ma were waiting for him to give a mini-press conference condemning the supposed illegality of the referendum. Ma is as entitled to freedom of speech as any other citizen -- but one would think that the mayoral role would impose certain restrictions on how freely he could speak his mind in public. Ma is certainly a remarkable role model for civil servants and government officials when it comes to insubordination against government policies or actions they oppose.

  Such new-found courage could have certainly been used a decade or two earlier. Just think -- Ma and others, such as People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who had made it to the top of the bureaucratic heap by staying mute to or actively assisted in the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) government' s autocracy -- could have spoken out against egregious illegal government actions with the same might.

  On second thought, it is probably more accurate to say that Ma was speaking not as mayor but as the head of the campaign headquarters for KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and Soong. With less than two months until the presidential election, Ma is speaking more frequently in that role. What other plausible explanation could there be for why he chose to speak out in such a way at such a time -- except to try to keep Chen from earning any brownie points with the voters. Ma knows that his comment won't stop the referendum, since both Chen and the DPP appear resolved to stand by their decision to hold it.

  If Ma and the pan-blue camp have a bone to pick over the legality of the March referendum, they should seek a ruling by the Council of Grand Justices, which many believe may decline to make such a ruling, since the underlying issue -- whether the country is facing sufficient external threats that may jeopardize its sovereignty -- is more a political question to be determined within the executive purview of the president.

  Interestingly enough, after Chen refuted French President Jacques Chirac's open denunciation of Taiwan's referendum plan, Lien and Soong rushed to defend Chirac, condemning the referendum as illegal and Chen for thinking that he alone understands democracy. At least Chirac parroted China's line in the presence of visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) -- either to kiss up to China or under Chinese pressure. What explanation could Lien and Soong have for joining in the chorus?
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