In the public mind, the vice presidency is probably a decorative position. High-ranking yet without any executive power in the real sense, vice presidents are often underestimated by the public, so much so that former US president John Adams once described the vice presidency as “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived, or his imagination conceived.”
However, over the course of history, the position of vice president has been elevated, with candidates now needing to fit the bill of being both a reliable partner and a counterbalance to the president.
As the first in line to succeed the president, a vice president should be able to deal with national crises or policies in the event that the president is declared incapable of carrying out the duties of the office.
Independent presidential candidate Terry Gou (郭台銘) dropped a bombshell when he named actress Tammy Lai (賴佩霞), known for her role in the Netflix political drama Wave Makers (人選之人), as his running mate for the election in January next year.
In his announcement, Gou touted Lai’s educational background at Harvard Kennedy School, which Lai later clarified as a “short-term” online course, not a full diploma as people had thought. Lai’s portfolio also includes a professional qualification in hypnotherapy and a doctorate in law from China’s Jinan University, a school that has direct associations with the United Front Work Department.
Even though education is not the only criterion for assessing a person’s capabilities, it does say much about the cards that the person can bring to the table. As Lai is running for vice president, it is only reasonable that the public asks for more than hypnosis, acting and legal knowledge as a skill set.
Lai’s eligibility has also been questioned because of her dual nationality as she has US citizenship — an issue that caused a furor in previous elections, such as the controversy over former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) US green card.
If a candidate cannot prove one’s loyalty to the nation with basic citizenship, they should not be allowed to stand for the top job.
So far, Lai’s nomination seems to have failed to work its magic for Gou. Most vice presidents are chosen to balance their party’s ticket — be in terms of geography, expertise or ideology — but Lai so far has no counterbalancing qualities to Gou other than gender.
In the 2016 presidential election, President Tsai Ing-wen, who has a legal background, chose Chen Chien-jen, who has public health expertise; the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate, Eric Chu, who has an accounting background, chose Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄), who has a legal background; and People First Party candidate James Soong, a political veteran, picked Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), who has a science background.
In terms of geographical considerations, Chu’s major support base was in northern Taiwan, while Wang had her roots in Chiayi County. Hsu, born in Hsinchu, was expected to bring in Hakka votes. Chen was expected to garner the votes of local factions in Kaohsiung.
As Gou is a political neophyte himself, he should have chosen a political veteran to be his running mate instead of someone who looks glamorous, yet lacks political experience. In this way, he could have persuaded the public that he is serious about his campaign, instead of creating doubts that it is just an act to satisfy his vanity or for the thrill of it. Perhaps this is the reason why his support ratings are still lagging way behind the other three candidates.
It is true that the vice presidency can be “insignificant,” but for the public, it is not a minor position that should be taken lightly.
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