Less than two months after the new administration took power, the stock market is in free fall, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approval ratings are slipping and former Control Yuan president Wang Tso-yung (王作榮) and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) are taking turns in demanding Cabinet reshuffles, with Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Vanessa Shih (史亞平) one of those in the firing line. The government is experiencing a credibility crisis that the Cabinet cannot resolve with a few humble excuses.
The government’s problem is that Ma said too much during his presidential campaign. His election slogan promising immediate improvements made public expectations soar, when in fact Ma was overestimating the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) ability to govern and underestimating the global economic situation and the complexity of the domestic situation. The government still has to move into gear and the public no longer has confidence that Ma will deliver on his promises.
The government is trying every trick in the book to come up with a quick fix, but many of its economic measures require time, while others cancel each other out: Raising oil and electricity prices, launching a plan to increase domestic demand and promoting development will lead to inflation and higher commodity prices, while the central bank is raising interest rates in an attempt to decrease money supply and curb inflation.
While international oil prices keep rising, the government’s measures will not be able to restrict price increases and it is unlikely that commodity prices will fall and the stock index go up.
The government clearly does not have the patience to wait for its economic measures to have an effect and instead places its hopes for the economy on Chinese tourists. It is also planning to allow Taiwanese companies to set up 12-inch wafer plants in China, which will weaken the industry’s quality and also affect both national and global security.
The government’s problems clearly do not lie in isolated incidents. Rather, there is an inability to grasp overall social trends. At a time when a public consensus is missing and Ma has said the Suhua Freeway construction project will not go ahead until the environmental impact assessment has been passed, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said that sections of the freeway would be built.
When Cabinet policy is declared on the spur of the moment without going through a standardized administrative process, when policies are constantly changing and when public sentiment regarding the freeway construction is ignored, it is only natural that there will be public discontent.
The GIO director is only there to make the government look good, and Shih cannot change policy or decisions. It is not her fault that the Cabinet is mired in internal chaos, it is always a step behind in managing crises, that policy communication falters and that the government cannot grasp public sentiment. This is the responsibility of more senior officials in both the Cabinet and the Presidential Office.
The government’s most urgent task is to review the Cabinet’s performance. In addition to setting up standardized processes for decision making, the Cabinet should also be taught the meaning of the term “team work” and the ministries should discuss how to improve their understanding of public sentiment.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS