Taipei-based diplomats and foreign community leaders said yesterday that in their estimation the opposition's move to recall President Chen Shui-bian (
Some even described the move as "absurd."
"This is just a political maneuver by the opposition ... If they carry this on, I think the move will backfire considering that President Chen still enjoys some large support among the Taiwanese. The opposition simply wants to strike some concessions from Chen by trying to push him into a corner," said a Taipei-based ambassador, who refused to be named.
"But I think they will only point the gun but will never pull the trigger" considering the lack of strong public opinion in favor of the attempted recall move, the source added.
Other diplomats said the opposition's intention to recall Chen on the grounds of "policy differences" simply violated established democratic practices.
"A president is normally recalled or impeached when he or she has committed a crime or become involved in bribery like Estrada in the Philippines. You simply can't recall or impeach the president because of policy differences. That is not what impeachment is meant for," said another source that identified himself as a foreign resident.
Foreign observers said that although Chen has faced some crises, the extent of his political liabilities were a bit "exaggerated" by the local media.
"It's a tough situation for Chen. But I don't think the crisis in Chen's government is as serious as that of Estrada in the Philippines ... People in Taiwan tend to internalize things here as if the rest of the world did not exist," said another Taipei-based diplomat.
Sources also urged the public to put the current situation in a historical context, as Chen's administration is experiencing the "growing pains" of Taiwanese society as it experiences its first transfer of power to another political party.
"All involved in this process of democratic transition, including the politicians and the media, are still in a learning process. And sometimes things are slightly exaggerated and hot-tempered," the foreign resident said.
Another source said that if political players involved continued to eye their partisan interests from a short-term view instead of taking into account the interests of the electorate, the overall power struggle could only be "detrimental" to Taiwan.
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