Tsuyoshi Nojima, a well-known journalist at the Asahi Shimbun in Japan, recently wrote an article in the May issue of Asahi’s Chinese-language magazine titled “Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] in the eyes of the Japanese.” In the article, Nojima wondered why the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) headed by Ma has performed poorly in recent elections and why his administration’s approval ratings have plummeted. This is quite perplexing to foreign political observers, he says.
Academia Sinica academic Hsu Cho-yun (許倬雲) agrees with Nojima. In a recent article entitled “Talking about 2012,” Hsu expressed doubts about the direction of the current administration, adding that the government and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) require a mechanism to coordinate cross-strait policies and that they need to stand together when dealing with China.
Nojima observes that even if cross-strait relations have improved and Taiwan’s diplomatic space has increased, and even if Chinese capital is bolstering Taiwan’s economy and driving up real-estate prices, that will not be sufficient when voters decide who to vote for.
In other words, it will be difficult for Ma to win the election simply by relying on charisma and charm.
The subdued atmosphere at the recent 18th KMT congress is a case in point — nominated legislators not showing up, people shouting out criticism, the lack of morale among low-level officials. Even when senior leaders yelled out slogans calling for unity, they couldn’t quite muster the requisite energy to make it seem heartfelt. Little wonder then that even the pro-KMT media said it had been the gloomiest ever.
Perhaps all of this has something to do with the divisions within the pan-blue camp in recent months, the dwindling prospects for a meeting between Ma and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and the fact that despite the superficial appearance of unity, deep-seated divisions remain just below the surface. In other words, morale in the pan-blue camp is low and Ma still has not fulfilled his promise to deal with the KMT’s stolen party assets, a sore spot for the public.
While the indictment of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) on charges of embezzling state funds shocked both Taiwanese and the international community, it was not a home run for the KMT, as most international media outlets, including those in the US and Japan, are actually reporting the pan-green camp and Lee’s lawyer Wellington Ku’s (顧立雄) version of events.
According to a poll by Yahoo Taiwan on Monday, 51.2 percent think the indictment will be good for the pan-green camp, while only 35.7 percent disagreed.
In addition, Beijing has sent a steady stream of high-level officials to Taiwan, as well as provincial governors and party secretaries. China has also bought advertising to court people living in central and southern Taiwan, further strengthening the impression that it is preparing to annex Taiwan, trying to turn “Taiwanese independence” into a new phrase for being “anti-Taiwanese.”
Although Ma has said that the judiciary cannot be isolated from society and must always strive to live up to reasonable public expectations, even current legislative reform continues to get low approval ratings in opinion polls. Clearly the public simply does not trust the legislative process.
As far as humanist and moral principles are concerned, relying on the law to solve political issues left over from history will only generate opposition from political parties. If the government expects Lee to simply take these embezzlement charges sitting down, it is going against the principles of Taiwanese tradition — being kind-hearted and moderate, temperate and gentle.
Lu I-ming is a former publisher and president of Taiwan Shin Sheng Daily News.
TRANSLATED BY KYLE JEFFCOAT
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