Following the Lunar New Year holiday, a new Cabinet led by Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and new Presidential Office appointees were sworn in on Tuesday last week.
The officials are tasked with guiding the country’s post-COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery, reinvigorating environmental policies, boosting social resilience and overhauling policies related to social security, infrastructure development and core industries.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德), newly elected as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman, and his team also returned to work last week. The reshuffle is seen as a regrouping of prominent members within the DPP and intended to win back the public’s trust and support after defeats in the local elections in November last year, as the party seeks to hold on to the presidency after next year’s election.
The new Cabinet members have been under a lot of scrutiny. After last year’s election defeats, people were expecting a complete makeover of the DPP as a sign that it is turning over a new leaf. The new Cabinet has the most women ever, while fresh faces took major posts, such as the premier, vice premier and minister of the interior.
However, other senior officials, such as many ministers without portfolio, have kept their posts.
People have speculated about the reasons for this, with some saying that as the new Cabinet would serve for a shorter time than that of former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), a minor reshuffle with not too many new appointees would ensure that new policies can be implemented without delay at a time when Taiwan is facing critical challenges and the next election is near.
However, the opposition has accused the new Cabinet of being little more than old wine in new bottles, saying it looks built for the purpose of a transition period.
As the new Cabinet gets to work, Taiwan finds itself buffeted from all quarters. It has been three years since the initial outbreak of COVID-19, but the pandemic still rages and shows no sign of ebbing. More than 16,000 Taiwanese have died from COVID-19, and the number of new daily cases of the disease remains at about 10,000 to 20,000. The priority of the public health system is to further reduce the death rate as most cases now have mild symptoms.
Aside from the loss of lives, the pandemic has had a great impact on the economy and society. Although there have been economic relief programs for disadvantaged people and hard-hit industries, the priority for the new Cabinet remains economic recovery.
Drafting a special bill to boost economic and social resilience, and share the proceeds of growth in the post-pandemic era is undoubtedly the primary task for the new Cabinet in the legislature’s upcoming session.
Economic recovery is a challenge that cannot be taken lightly. As inflation and rising interest rates have reduced global demand, and the escalation of the pandemic in China weighs on economic activity in the country, Taiwan posted negative economic growth in the fourth quarter of last year, marking its worst quarter since the global financial crisis in 2009.
Global economic growth is expected to fall below 3 percent this year — the lowest in six years — and prices have soared over the past few months. Aside from goods, inflation has also been spilling over into services. Wages have not kept up with rising inflation, and people look on aghast as their purchasing power weakens.
Even though the economic slowdown and inflation have external causes, the government’s response is crucial. The economic challenges are likely to continue this year, and it is crucial that the government refrains from implementing policies that are out of touch with Taiwanese, and instead puts forward responsive policies and measures that help them.
Security is another issue that needs addressing.
Most senior national security officials, such as those in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense, have kept their posts, showing that the government is prioritizing stability above all else.
The biggest security threat facing Taiwan is China’s aggression. Global think tanks, and US politicians and generals have continued to issue warnings about China’s military threats against Taiwan. Not only did Chinese warplane incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone double last year, gray zone tactics, such as cognitive warfare, are also escalating, as China seeks to create internal turmoil in Taiwan.
INTERNAL DISCORD
However, the most troubling issue is the political strife between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the DPP leading to certain politicians seeing Taiwan’s greatest enemy as a friend and becoming China’s mouthpiece, bad-mouthing all measures that are beneficial to Taiwan’s security.
These pro-China politicians disregard that China is the true culprit behind the destabilization of cross-strait peace, and go so far as to spread anti-US narratives, promote defeatism and appeasement, and blame Taiwan for “provoking” Beijing.
After last year’s elections, China and its supporters must have thought they scored a victory, emboldening them to double down on cognitive warfare.
Taiwan is no stranger to long-term internal and external challenges. Climate change, a declining birthrate, income inequality, and being barred from participating in global organizations and agreements are prominent issues, and they have had a huge impact on the nation at every level.
Regardless of the length of the new Cabinet’s tenure, the government has to take all those issues into account, which could be another reason for the reshuffle being smaller than expected.
Solutions to or improvements of chronic issues must be achieved through accumulating short-term results.
With regard to climate change, the EU is imposing a carbon tariff on environmentally damaging imports this fall, potentially affecting Taiwan’s foreign trade.
Meanwhile, the Climate Change Response Act (氣候變遷因應法) sets a net zero emissions goal by 2050, and measures such as a carbon tax are likely to be implemented by the government.
COMMUNICATION
The new Cabinet must also seek to communicate with the public more effectively. Those in power are not only responsible for doing the right thing, they also have to do the right thing well. Communication and coordination before policies are implemented are crucial. Informing the public about planned policies plays a major role in their success.
In an environment in which political strife and cognitive warfare abounds, it is of utmost importance to respond quickly to false statements, surveillance or disinformation attacks.
The government must ensure that it is not out of touch, and it must cut down on bureaucratic language. It must communicate in a simple way to ensure that all Taiwanese can understand its messages.
Meanwhile, comments of Internet celebrities, famous pundits and politicians must be taken with a grain of salt, as the popular opinion “armies” on the Internet are a double-edged sword. The DPP must seek to discern true public will, and tread a fine line between shouldering responsibility and seeking attention.
The new Cabinet will have to take the right path, demonstrate confidence and resolve, and refrain from trying to please everybody.
However, the new Cabinet must also make fundamental reforms.
After the soul-searching in the wake of last year’s elections, the DPP must not just overhaul its nomination process, promotional materials, public relations strategies, crisis management and how it addresses its nosediving support rate, it must also root out arrogance and corruption within its ranks. It should go back to its promises of “clean governance, diligence and dedication to Taiwan.”
If coupled with the new Cabinet’s efforts, the DPP can win back the hearts and minds of Taiwanese, and make the slogan “DPP governance is quality assurance” come true.
Translated by Rita Wang
Labubu, an elf-like plush toy with pointy ears and nine serrated teeth, has become a global sensation, worn by celebrities including Rihanna and Dua Lipa. These dolls are sold out in stores from Singapore to London; a human-sized version recently fetched a whopping US$150,000 at an auction in Beijing. With all the social media buzz, it is worth asking if we are witnessing the rise of a new-age collectible, or whether Labubu is a mere fad destined to fade. Investors certainly want to know. Pop Mart International Group Ltd, the Chinese manufacturer behind this trendy toy, has rallied 178 percent
My youngest son attends a university in Taipei. Throughout the past two years, whenever I have brought him his luggage or picked him up for the end of a semester or the start of a break, I have stayed at a hotel near his campus. In doing so, I have noticed a strange phenomenon: The hotel’s TV contained an unusual number of Chinese channels, filled with accents that would make a person feel as if they are in China. It is quite exhausting. A few days ago, while staying in the hotel, I found that of the 50 available TV channels,
Life as we know it will probably not come to an end in Japan this weekend, but what if it does? That is the question consuming a disaster-prone country ahead of a widely spread prediction of disaster that one comic book suggests would occur tomorrow. The Future I Saw, a manga by Ryo Tatsuki about her purported ability to see the future in dreams, was first published in 1999. It would have faded into obscurity, but for the mention of a tsunami and the cover that read “Major disaster in March 2011.” Years later, when the most powerful earthquake ever
There is no such thing as a “silicon shield.” This trope has gained traction in the world of Taiwanese news, likely with the best intentions. Anything that breaks the China-controlled narrative that Taiwan is doomed to be conquered is welcome, but after observing its rise in recent months, I now believe that the “silicon shield” is a myth — one that is ultimately working against Taiwan. The basic silicon shield idea is that the world, particularly the US, would rush to defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion because they do not want Beijing to seize the nation’s vital and unique chip industry. However,
RSS