President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) top aide, Ma Yun-cheng (馬永成), who Chen's rivals call the "leader of the Boy Scouts," on Wednesday night held a wedding party at the Sheraton Hotel in Taipei.
The party was attended by the president and first lady Wu Shu-chen (
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
During her speech at the party, the first lady made fun of Ma's notorious romances: "No more fooling around or it will be difficult for you to hang around with the president any more," she joked.
Ma, a thin man in his 30s, listened obediently while Wu talked. Beside him sat his bride, Fan Tien-chen (范恬甄), a model-like tall woman that he has known for more than a decade. Those who joined the wedding -- including Vice President Annette Lu, (呂秀蓮) Premier Yu Hsi-kun and other political and business heavyweights -- roared with laughter at Wu's remarks.
Ma's ability to gather so many of Taiwan's most powerful people at his wedding reveals that the young man's political influence far exceeds his position as a secretary of the Presidential Office.
The south American tour
Let's switch to another scene. Ma went with President Chen to Central and South America last year. During the visit, Ma took a table at a corner and a diplomat's wife sent in a bowl of green-bean congee to him as soon as he sat down. The reporters made fun of him for the special treatment, he then replied with a mocking tone, "I only have four years to enjoy the treatment." The tenure of office of a Taiwan president is four years.
Ma was born in the year of the snake, 1965. He then obtained a BA in Politics from the National Taiwan University. When he was at college, he and DPP legislator Ro Wen-chia (羅文嘉) were both leaders of a students' movement. Ro was the first chief of the student association of NTU and Ma was the deputy.
After they finished their military service in 1991, they both joined then-lawmaker Chen Sui-bian's office at the Legislative Yuan.
Ro was Chen's spokesman and took charge of all propaganda and public relations issues; Ma, however, dealt with under-the-table political negotiations and personnel arrangements on behalf of Chen. Ro, embracing the attention of the media, was a star on the political stage, while Ma, stayed behind the curtain fighting subtle political wars. He brought in allies for Chen, tackled Chen's political antagonists, and even cultivated power resources and interests.
The most influential aide
Politicians and reporters named Ma "the most influential aide in Taiwan." Many of them admit that except for the first lady, Ma is the best person to go through to get to President Chen. Building a close relationship with Ma is the only way to get closer to the president.
"Except for his wife, Wu Shu-chen, Ma and Ro are the two guards of Chen Shui-bian's political life. Chen is a tutor to Ro and Ma, and he is also their friend," said DPP lawmaker Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) who is also a close friend of Chen's.
President Chen has had many ups and downs during his political career and Ma is one of his core followers.
In 1998, Chen failed in his bid to become mayor of Taipei for a second time. After Chen lost the election, Ro chose to go his own way, but Ma promised Chen that he would come back as soon as Chen needed him though he had planned to study in England. When Chen decided to run for the presidency in May, 1999, Ma immediately returned to Taiwan. After Chen won the election, Ma became the president's top aide.
In spite of all of his power, Ma has tried to remain low-key. He refused the title of head of the Presidential
Office and instead prefers to be referred to as a secretary. He is reluctant to be quoted by the press directly and prefers to be an anonymous source.
When the media report on the Presidential Office, he is often quoted as "source," "top policy maker," and "close aide."
He leads a group of thirtysomethings that are in control of the highest echelons of power in the country.
Opposition parties and some scholars have criticized Chen's government as "a country ruled by scouts."
Understanding that mistakes are not acceptable, Ma has been trying to keep a low profile. He once made a serious mistake during Chen Shui-bian's tenure as Taipei mayor.
In 1999, when Chen was trying for his second term as Taipei mayor, a female KMT city councilor accused Ma, then also an aide of Chen, of frequenting hostess bars.
He admitted it and for the sake of the election, he made a public apology and left the campaign team. The incident reflected badly on Chen, and he later failed to regain the post.
Drinking and sex scandals had been plaguing him at that time. Since then, Ma has been trying to stay out of the limelight and maintain a low profile as an adviser in the Presidential Office.
Just a `thirtysomething'
"I'm just a thirtysomething, but I have spent my youth struggling for power. Politics is two-sided -- one is dark, the other is bright. When others are on the stage enjoying applause, I have to stay behind the curtain to fight against unexpected attacks.
"Over more than a decade, I have been dealing with politicians who are dozens of years older than me. I have to pretend to be sophisticated to prove to counterparts that things are under control," he said.
"I am under a lot of pressure, you bet."
The transfer of documents
Ma has grown more sophisticated in leading the operations of Chen's regime. In addition to helping Chen fulfill all his political promises, he is concerned about the substance of the power transfer. He hopes government actions can be systemized by documentation, so it may will get a fair evaluation.
In Generation of Student Movements, a book written by local senior reporter Ho Jung-shin (何榮幸), Ma described Taiwan's first change of power as "windy and stormy" during an interview with Ho. He said the presidential election ended on March 18, 2000, but ever since Chen Shui-bian took over the presidency, the Presidential Office and many overseas units have yet to receive some documents that should have been turned over by their predecessors.
"National documents are not private property, but they have been held as a party's property. It becomes impossible to tell the public issues from the private ones. The former government burns the documents that make them look bad. That becomes a big problem. It can't pass over from one government to another."
"The administration should stay neutral. You may have your ideology. Destroying official documents at the change of regime, is this good for a country?"
"We now file everything responsibly, and make it systemized, so future successors may look back. It is the essence of the change of power.
This is important," he said. "As long as the documents exist, then everything you can someday be recognized," he said.
"So there can't be any abuses or mess-ups in the documents. As long as there are documents to review, even though we may be criticized as incapable, at least our direction can never be questioned."
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