Catastrophe awaits Taiwan
The following statement is commendable: “The nation’s future should be decided by its people, not by the president alone. Any step [President] Ma [Ying-jeou (馬英九)] takes on cross-strait relations that is not democratically processed would be a breach of his duty as head of state.” (“Ma’s moves toward political talks,” Oct. 25, page 8)
This is an honest, righteous and dutiful statement.
Unfortunately, the Taipei Times seems to forget that Ma has no credibility and his promises are meaningless. A few of the things he has said are that his “6-3-3” campaign pledge would help the economy; he would donate half of his salary if the “6-3-3” target was not met; the stock market would rise to record highs; he would not run for the chairmanship of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT); he would restructure various pension plans for workers, the economy would take off after the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was signed and that there would be “10 golden years” if he got re-elected. The list can go on.
From the activities of Ma’s envoy Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) at the APEC meeting in Bali and the current visit to China by former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), it is clear that Ma’s team is now intensively negotiating with the Chinese government regarding details of a peace treaty and a trip to China by Ma.
Ma will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) either next year or in 2015. He will sign a peace treaty with China sometime before his presidency ends in May of 2016.
While running for president in 2008, Ma said: “The future of the nation will be decided by the 23 million people in Taiwan.” However, this was only a piece of campaign propaganda.
Taiwanese have to wake up and be prepared for a disaster, which is big and coming.
Ken Huang
Murrieta, California
The rise and fall of Ma
In response to your editorial (“Wanted: Taiwan’s ‘Naoki Hanzawa,’” Oct. 29, Page 8), there have been numerous examples of Taiwanese behaving Hanzawa-like.
They include a taxi driver and a housewife who committed suicide because of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) incompetency; a national university president who stood up to say Taiwan-China relations are international instead of “non-international”; a breakfast restaurant owner who set up a board criticizing the president’s incapacity with rhyming phrases; and hundreds of young and old demonstrators who threw shoes at Ma for his damaging policies.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) is only one-quarter Hanzawa for first protesting at being targeted by the president in the wiretapping incident, but finally yielding.
It is equally important to have an honorable president with conscience, genuine love for Taiwan and the capability to do the job.
Ma was once surveyed as Taiwan’s most popular politician and selected one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential persons. He was elected president not once, but twice. The remaining two-and-a-half years of his term are critical.
Today, Ma has become a shoe-throwing target and holds the dishonorable titles of “bumbler” and “most unpopular elected president.” He has broken so many promises and has misused his power as a political weapon. The only promise he has kept is to let former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) die in an ugly manner.
At his worst, Ma has traded sovereignty for peace and downgraded the economy to rely on China. Taiwanese pay his salary, but he reports to China as a representative in “Chinese Taipei” or “Taiwan, China.” Taiwanese have lost confidence in him.
Many people have begun to wonder whether Ma really graduated from Harvard University with a doctorate in law. His performance does not match his qualifications. Ma should not defame his alma mater or his own legacy.
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
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