Sat, Sep 04, 2004 page8

• Editorial: Mayor Ma's Teflon government

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  On Thursday, the Taiwan Professional Civil Engineers Association released its report on the flooding

  of Sanchung City, suggesting that the Taipei City Government's Department of Rapid Transit Systems and MRT contractors share responsibility for the disaster.

  But let's cut to the chase. Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) handling of the problem is the real issue. For such an obvious cock-up, it is incredible that not one political appointee has stepped down or been sacked, and Ma is unwilling to look into their roles in the matter before the Control Yuan begins its investigation next week. Meanwhile, several non-aligned officials have been punished. Such "crisis management" by Ma's reshuffled administration bodes ill.

  It makes sense for political appointees to take political responsibility. This is in no way inconsistent with the Control Yuan's investigation of administrative flaws -- they are different processes of accountability.

  The flooding resulted from Taipei City's poor supervision and caused significant losses to almost 20,000 households. As a political appointee, Department of Rapid Transit Systems director Chang Chi-teh (常岐德) should have taken immediate responsibility for such a huge mistake. Even though Chang took up the post office only a month ago, he was promoted from deputy director, and is therefore closely associated with the project.

  The Control Yuan will inspect the Tungan pumping station in Sanchung on Monday and clarify which parties are to be held responsible. So Chang will probably be investigated next week, and thus Ma's announcement that he would transfer the case to the Control Yuan for investigation was redundant. Is Ma in fact trying to avoid discussion of Chang's possible responsibility as a political appointee? Is he trying to extend the battlefront so that Chang has more room to maneuver?

  Mayor Ma said he would wait for reports to be submitted before punishing officials. Seven days have passed since then, and now Ma says he will await the results of an assessment by the Control Yuan. Such vacillation points to a city government that does not take its responsibilities seriously.

  Compare this to the situation in Kaohsiung when a residential block was damaged due to subsidence caused by construction of the MRT system there. The director of the Department of Rapid Transit Systems resigned immediately. This not only reinforced the idea that political appointees should take responsibility, but also showed that Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) is someone who will not shield the negligent. In this way a government can maintain public confidence.

  Ma has missed two opportunities to display courage and resolve. His actions in this affair have further damaged his leadership. In 2001, when Typhoon Nari hit the country, Ma's government failed to respond in time, which resulted in extensive flooding throughout the city. This was one of the more difficult obstacles that Ma had to overcome in his re-election campaign.

  Now, with tens of thousands of people suffering significant financial loss, Ma will surely find that when he steps outside his safe-haven electorate of Taipei City and runs for higher office, a political price will be paid for his behavior.
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