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EDITORIAL: Ma should
listen to public opinion
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) embarked on the gimmicky “home-stay” part of his
re-election bid with great fanfare over the weekend by spending one night at a
farmer’s house and another at a college dormitory — experiences he said would
give him a better understanding of local issues.
The first two stops of the home-stay program, an extension of Ma’s “long stay”
visits during the 2008 presidential campaign, marked his 99th and 100th
home-stays since 2007. They also ensured he reached the numerically pleasing
total of staying at 100 homes during the Republic of China’s centennial year.
It is not surprising that Ma wants to replicate his successful presidential
campaign of 2007 to 2008. Back then he was portrayed as a leader who lived among
the people and understood their concerns. However, it is concerning that after
three years as president, Ma still needs home-stays to get in touch with the
public’s concerns and its pain.
Recent government policies, from an increase in the monthly pension for elderly
farmers and the Ministry of Education’s proposed ban on certain preschool
classes for children under six-years-old, to the Council of Agriculture’s
decision to cut the supply of free milk to children from low-income families,
have shown that Ma and his administration have little understanding of the
public’s concerns and are unable to empathize with the pain of others.
Take the increase in pension for older farmers as an example. The government’s
decision to increase the NT$6,000 (US$200) subsidy by just NT$316 stunned the
public. Despite calls for an increase of at least NT$1,000, even from many
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, Ma insisted that the increase had
been carefully calculated to ensure fairness and went on to quote various
statistics to defend the policy.
The ministry’s decision this month to revise the Supplementary and Continuing
Education Law (補習及進修教育法草案) to ban cram schools from recruiting children under
the age of six for classes such as English was widely derided by the schools and
parents.
In the face of widespread opposition, the ministry withdrew the draft it had
been preparing to send to the Executive Yuan, despite insisting that classes
such as English, speed reading or mental arithmetic were inappropriate for
children under the age of six.
Although its intent was to reduce the burden on children in a highly competitive
environment, the ministry failed to grasp the fact that cram schools and the
classes they offer provide an alternative learning environment that also
functions as a daycare center for working parents who struggle to balance the
work and parenthood.
Another recent example of a sudden shift in policy was the council’s plan to
cancel free milk for elementary students from low-income families, limiting it
to just children in orphanages because of the recent increase in milk prices.
The announcement of the plan drew waves of criticism, with some saying the
government was trampling on the rights of children, which prompted the council
to change its position and promise to find NT$9 million to fund the free-milk
program this year.
These controversial policies and the resulting U-turns reflect the problematic
way in which government agencies make policy and their complete lack of
understanding of public opinion.
If the Ma administration continues to draft policies that cause more problems
that they address, Ma will lose support no matter how many homes he stays at.
After all, what people really want is a president who is able to solve their
problems and make their lives just a little bit easier.
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