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EDITORIAL: Ma should
revisit the classics
In September, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election campaign office
released a TV campaign spot in which Ma touted the preservation of Chinese
culture and suggested that children read the Four Books and Five Classics
(四書五經), a collection of Confucian writings dating back to 300 BC, saying the
children who study these works are the ones “who truly understand Taiwan’s
advantages, unlike the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).”
Ma, who prides himself on his knowledge of Chinese classics, must be no stranger
to Confucius’ (孔子) work, which includes teachings on governance.
“One most important thing in running a country is to rein in spending and
eliminate squander,” Confucius said in the the Analects (論語) — one of the Four
Books and Five Classics promoted by Ma. This was Confucius’ response when Duke
Jing of Qi (齊景公) sought his advice on governance.
In view of the recent slew of reports on the Ma administration’s reckless
spending of taxpayers’ money, maybe Ma, as well as all his officials for that
matter, should revisit Confucius’ teachings.
Aside from the controversy over the rock musical Dreamers (夢想家) — of which the
NT$215 million (US$7.1 million) price tag has been labeled “exorbitant” for a
production that ran for only two evenings as part of the Republic of China’s
(ROC) centennial celebrations — it was reported earlier this week that NT$72
million would be spent hosting a cycle tour slated for Dec. 31 as another ROC
centennial event.
With the addition of a NT$180 million monument marking the centennial,
dumbfounding does not begin to describe the degree of “generosity” the Ma
government is showing with taxpayers’ money.
Just imagine how many students from low-income families who cannot afford school
lunches could be fed if a fraction of the money lavished on the centennial
project were allotted to them.
Aside from being attentive to all matters, be sincere and thrifty, Confucius
also said in his teachings on good governance; an incident on Tuesday sadly
suggested just how far Ma has strayed in that regard.
During an inspection of Yilan County’s Sansing Township (三星), where a large
amount of green onions were damaged by the heavy rain that drenched the fields
last week, Ma picked up a batch, held it to his nose and said: “It smells good.”
He suffered an awkward moment when a farmer standing next to Ma, baffled by the
comment, said: “How can it smell good? It’s rotten.”
Granted, it was nice seeing the president showing some concern for people by
visiting the rain-ridden areas. However, showing concern is something that ought
be done genuinely over a long period of time.
If a politician is interested only in playacting and shows concern for the
people only when election season rolls around, it is only a matter of time
before he makes a fool of himself with such senseless remarks.
The incident recalled how first lady Chow Mei--ching (周美青) once described the
president as someone “who doesn’t know how to care for others and be considerate
of others.”
Before promoting the Four Books and Five Classics, maybe it is time that Ma
revisits the Confucian teachings himself and puts them into action to become a
leader worthy of people’s trust and respect.
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