Sun, Mar 02, 2008 page8

• EDITORIAL: Good policies go to the dogs

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  Two government policies have been halted recently -- the establishment of private arms company Taiwan Goal and the privatization of the Grand Hotel. After these measures became public, they were questioned by the media and criticized by the opposition, which led the government to abandon the plans to avoid difficulties ahead of the presidential elections.

  Taiwan's defense purchases have always been handled through official channels. Given Taiwan's unusual international situation, official purchases have always been problematic, which led the government and private parties to set up Taiwan Goal to act as a go-between. This would have allowed Taiwan the flexibility to obtain the necessary weapons and defense technology faster and cheaper. Many other countries use similar systems.

  Taiwan Goal was stillborn, and if the idea of privatized arms purchases hasn't been abandoned for good, it has at least been postponed for a long time. This is harmful to Taiwan as a whole and a very high price was paid when minister of national defense Lee Tien-yu (李天羽) resigned over the scandal caused by the exposure of Taiwan Goal.

  The Grand Hotel has always been managed by the Duen Mou Foundation (敦睦基金會), a non-profit organization founded by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and a remnant of the KMT government. Although the government was the main investor, the hotel was controlled by Chiang Kai-shek's (蔣介石) wife, Soong Mayling (宋美齡), her niece Kung Ling-wei (孔令偉) and their confidantes, making it difficult for other organizations to get involved in its management. Although the hotel has an excellent location and has enjoyed international renown, management is less flexible and efficient than in privately run five-star hotels. Privatizing the Grand Hotel is in line with the long-term policies of the Ministry of Transportation and Communication and also solves a problem the KMT has been unable or unwilling to deal with.

  These are good policies. Even if the current government can't implement them, a future government will. The opportunity will be missed simply because neither side wants the other to score any extra points in the run-up to the presidential election.

  For eight years, Taiwan has been treading water, and a slack government and an unreasonable opposition are the main reasons these opportunities are slipping away.

  Although the Cabinet believes these policies should be carried out, any positive policy should have been implemented long ago instead of being rushed through when the government's time seems to be running out. These and many other things have been left undone because of the government's wavering, the speed with which political appointees have been replaced, the brevity of their terms and the resulting lack of comprehensive, long-term policy.

  The KMT insists that the Cabinet is a caretaker body that should abstain from making any major policy changes. This may make some sense, but why let an opportunity slip by if both the DPP and the KMT agree that these are positive policies? Because the policies involve vested interests -- both the Grand Hotel and arms dealing have long been part of the KMT's sphere of influence and the KMT doesn't want the DPP to stick its nose in there, nor does it want to see the DPP score political points.

  The KMT's unwillingness to see any DPP accomplishments and the resulting legislative obstruction is one of the main reasons for Taiwan's slow progress since 2000. The presidential election is an opportunity for Taiwanese to express whether they think the problems were due to a slack government or an unreasonable opposition.
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