One year ago, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was elected president with 58 percent of the vote. Two months later, his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took over the reins of government from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan’s second democratic transfer of power. At the time, Ma enjoyed approval rates of more than 70 percent. The figures today look rather different. An opinion poll conducted by Global Views magazine found that only 29 percent of respondents were satisfied with the performance of the Ma administration, while 58 percent were dissatisfied. It is high time the Ma government reviewed its policies.
During his campaign, Ma made his “6-3-3” promise — 6 percent annual economic growth, annual per capita income of US$30,000 by 2016 and unemployment below 3 percent. None of these promises looks remotely achievable. The nation is suffering a severe economic downturn, unemployment is climbing and many workers have been forced to take leave without pay. Despite this huge discrepancy between vision and reality, however, not a word of apology has been heard from Ma, his administration or the KMT.
The US financial storm has swept across the world over the past year, bringing economic turbulence and threatening a repeat of the 1930s Great Depression. People in Europe and the US are spending less, which has had a serious impact on Taiwan’s export-oriented economy. The global nature of the crisis is plain for all to see. However, Taiwan’s performance has been the worst of the four Asian “tiger” economies. This is why people have criticized the government’s competence.
Most of the measures the government has come up with in response to the crisis have been quick fixes, not long-term solutions: consumer vouchers, the Ministry of the Interior’s income support scheme for near-poor families, the Council of Labor Affairs’ “immediate back-to-work scheme,” the free school lunches for all elementary and junior-high school students and so on.
There is the rather belated plan to invest NT$500 billion (US$14.8 billion) in various projects, but the way the government has chosen to allocate this money makes it appear to be a case of subsidizing towns and counties under KMT control, while those ruled by the opposition complain they have been left out.
The government is also too reliant upon China’s goodwill. A year ago, Ma made great promises about how opening direct cross-strait transport links and allowing more Chinese tourists to visit would bring great benefits to Taiwan. However, few if any such benefits have been seen.
Ma called a diplomatic truce with China, but diplomatic relations with allies Paraguay, Panama and El Salvador are hanging by a thread. Then there is the matter of the World Health Assembly (WHA) scheduled for May in Geneva. The government has not announced whether Taiwan will apply to join the WHA as an associate member, as it has in past years, or apply to participate as an observer.
Nevertheless, the biggest failure of the Ma administration is not its China obsession. It is its failure to inform and consult the public. Not once since he came to office has Ma had a face-to-face exchange of views with opposition leaders. He plans to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement with China, but the public has little idea what such a pact would entail. Businesspeople and the public are tired of being left in the dark. Nobody really knows what Ma is trying to do. That is the real reason why his government is so unpopular.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
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