It might have come as a surprise to some how abruptly Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) approval rating has fallen, but Ko’s transformation from one of Taiwan’s most beloved political figures to the most “worthless” among mayors of the six municipalities, according to a recently published list, was simply the outcome of a cumulative process — one that he has had coming for the past couple of months.
One year and four months into his term, it has become evident that Ko, who has often been described by his critics as short-tempered and reckless, has no qualms about forming policies that target the masses — an inclination that has at times highlighted Ko’s reluctance to acknowledge his mistakes.
Ko’s first major support rating dip came just before the Lunar New Year holiday in February, when traffic in Taipei descended into a huge mess.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
While Ko’s waning popularity received a substantial boost from his “twin-tower” bicycle trip from the nation’s northernmost Fuguijiao Lighthouse (富貴角燈塔) in Keelung to the southernmost Oluanpi Lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻) in Pingtung County, he was unable to capitalize on that momentum, again triggering negative feedback when he arbitrarily linked Taipei’s traffic congestion problem to people parking illegally.
To tackle illegal parking, Ko introduced a policy that would force every motorist in Taipei to install an electronic toll system e-Tag sticker and announced that people who do not have e-Tags installed would have to pay a NT$200 surcharge every time they receive a printed invoice for using a public parking space.
While the Taipei Department of Transportation and the Taipei Police Department Traffic Division said the heavy traffic seen before and after the Lunar New Year holiday was due to a directive from Ko moving police directing traffic at intersections to roadsides, Ko’s parking policy was widely interpreted as him shifting responsibility for his impaired judgement onto the public.
As suggested in back-to-back polls released last week by the Chinese-language China Times Weekly magazine and online forecaster Exchange of Wisdom, transportation policies requiring residents to pay more was another major factor behind Ko’s sliding ratings.
These included the cancelation of the 30-minute free use policy for YouBikes, the city’s public bicycle system, and the soon-to-be-canceled 20 percent discount for people who use an EasyCard to pay for an MRT rail ticket.
As the traffic problem persists, these policies will drive up the cost of living in a time of austerity stemming from high commodity prices and stagnant salary levels, which is contrary to Ko’s aim of encouraging people to use public transportation and will only prompt people to ride scooters more often.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor William Hsu (徐弘庭) criticized Ko’s “questionable” personality, saying Ko is always trying prove that he is “better” than his predecessors by saving on petty government expenditures.
However, the policies to reduce government spending are “paradoxical” to Ko’s transportation policies, Hsu said.
“If Ko cannot solve people’s problems, he should at least stop giving them more problems,” he added.
Of all the reasons cited for Ko’s fallout with his supporters, the public’s rejection of Ko’s proposal to resolve the Taipei Dome complex debacle through the city’s “i-Voting” online polls system was probably the largest backlash suffered by Ko and his aides and could suggest that the plan had pushed the public beyond its limits.
Ko announced the plan in an apparent attempt to help his administration gain an advantage over Taipei Dome contractor Farglory Group in a protracted standoff, but the public is not as forgetful as he had believed them to be.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) said the plan to put the Dome project to an “i-Vote” was Ko “using the wrong tool for the wrong job.”
“The poll results show that people are rational. This is the city government’s responsibility, not the public’s,” Ho said, adding Ko’s administration should focus on finding alternatives to the Taipei Dome project — such as making it Asia’s largest “green” structure or persuading Farglory to allocate more public space in the complex — to garner the public’s approval.
“The people already voted. They voted for you [Ko]. They want you to solve the problem. If all things can be decided through i-Voting, what did people elect you for?” DPP Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) said. “On the surface, putting the Taipei Dome to an i-Vote is showing respect to the people, but in fact, it is proof that Ko is both incompetent and fainthearted.”
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