Thu, Feb 15, 2007 page8

• Editorial: The blooding of Ma Ying-jeou

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  If former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is to be believed, his indictment for corruption represents the "mortal wounding" of democracy. This is flamboyant twaddle, but impressive for its ramping up of passionate rhetoric, which has never been Ma's strong point.

  But Ma argues an intriguing case: How can he be indicted for corruption for transferring public funds to his private account when so many senior politicians around him are seemingly far more deserving of prosecution on these and many other terms?

  The point is interesting for two reasons. It shines a bright light on an entrenched culture of graft in the nation's bureaucracies, and it shows that Ma thinks there is such a thing as relative graft -- in his own case, he would argue, any "graft" should be blamed on the system and not his squeaky-clean self.

  A lot of people are sympathetic to this point of view. Taiwan is a country, after all, that has become wealthy and free in a context of compromise and pragmatism. This nation's inglorious culture of administrative graft and perks is so familiar and inoffensive that even some pan-green-camp moderates will be privately scratching their heads at how Ma could end up being indicted when political parties are filled to the brim with people whose decades of wealth accumulation -- far greater than the paltry amount Ma is accused of embezzling -- would struggle to stand up to rigorous investigation.

  The KMT itself, up until recently, was a wealth magnet in which those who knew how to play the game could make immense amounts of money. As party chairman, Ma was its protector, and while he protests his innocence on a personal level, it should be made clear that Ma did nothing to hold the party accountable to the nation for its decades of theft of public and private property.

  Ma's public image is enhanced by rank stupidity from senior Democratic Progressive Party officials who ought to know better. Caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) on Tuesday gloated that "Now we have finally seen justice," indicating that this would-be Cabinet minister does not understand the difference between an indictment and a conviction.

  Ma's language also appears more moderate against the pitiful huffing and puffing of KMT hacks such as caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), who accused prosecutors -- the same team that indicted first family members -- of being a "political weapon."

  A more considered assessment of Tuesday's events comes from political scientist June Teufel Dreyer, who summed up Ma's response with the word "cunning."

  Cunning, indeed. There is a strong case that Ma's tribulations will have hurt his presidential chances: Enemies in the KMT will try to make hay out of his misfortune, and moderate voters in both camps may now be experiencing second thoughts about the man international news agencies love to call "handsome." But Ma has pre-empted party enemies -- the terminally evasive Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), in particular -- and is likely to shore up support from grassroots voters with the simple argument that his motivations are purer than the driven snow.

  The idea peddled by some wire agencies that Ma has suffered a "fatal blow" is utter nonsense. His eyes are now firmly and publicly on the presidency, and his first priority is to secure the KMT nomination. This is not a done deal, but if Tuesday's events have taught us anything, it is that Ma is now, finally, spoiling for a fight. The handsome effete has been blooded, and his pan-blue-camp supporters are still standing by his side: Let the presidential campaign begin.
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